Redemption
by Simply Sarah
Summary: The gleeks try to be there for Quinn in their own way in her post-cheer slushie hazing. If only slushies in the face were the only thing she had to over come. Puck/Quinn. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yeash, I thought I'd have this out a lot sooner, but on the plus side I have nearly all of it written. I'm halfway through the fifth chapter (of six…I think).

One thing that definitely needs to be known going into this story (though it's not that apparent in this chapter) is that if it feels like it's moving backwards, don't worry. Quinn's going to go through a type of one step forward, two steps back situation. The cause of which should be apparent by the end.

**Summary:** This story partially revolves around the idea that Mr. Schue mentioned at the end of the last episode ("Mash-up"). "It's okay if that happens Quinn, because you have eleven people who will help clean you up." While this is basically eleven people helping to clean her up (sort of thirteen if you squint), it's also Quinn trying to deal with all the changes in her life, which is definitely a struggle. Of course, it's also a Quick fic.

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**Redemption**

_The restoration of (wo)man from the bondage of sin.

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_

Ever since she thought she was pregnant and had her suspicions confirmed by that doctor out of town, she's known she'd end up alone in this.

Finn would definitely leave her. As much as she's tried to fight it she's not stupid enough to think that the truth would never get out. Then, she knows, it's over with them.

She knows her parents will be far too disappointed to hold her hand during a doctor's appointment or even be there when she has the baby.

She knows that none of her friends will probably be there for her either because she knows that none of them were probably real friends. Her mother always said that it doesn't matter how many people come to your birthday party because they care about you, it only matters how many people come. Popularity and friendship just don't mix. Popularity is a big part of the "perfect" daughter her parents want and for better or worse she's wanted to be that daughter for them. And now her efforts to be that daughter will leave her without them and without anyone else due to the lifestyle she's lead for them because she made one mistake.

One mistake and she's going to be totally alone.

The day Finn gets a slushie in the face she recognizes the beginning of the end. People will start slipping away from her life from now on, just as everything else she's ever known is slipping away from her.

The end is near she figures. Soon she'll have nothing left at all.

-o-o-o-

**Santana and Brittney**

She doesn't have the energy to chastise Finn after their dual slushie facial from his fellow football players. She's too horrified. Too close to tears to do anything except flee to the nearest bathroom and try to clean up in order to distract herself from crying.

The bathroom is empty thankfully, but she's pleasantly surprised when Santana and Brittney come bursting through the door only a minute after her.

"Are you sure you guys should be seen with me?" she questions. She's glad they're there, but this is high school where popularity is paramount so she'd understand if they didn't want to be seen with the likes of her now. If the situation was reversed she's pretty sure she'd think of herself first.

Santana locks the door with a smirk as she says, "We won't be seen."

She smiles gratefully.

The girls get to work on her. They grab paper towels, dry and wet, and try to remove the slushie gunk off her face and hair first.

They don't talk about the giant elephant in the room or anything that could be associated with it. They don't mention the fact that she just got slushies thrown at her, they don't talk about why, they avoid the fact that she's pregnant, and they don't talk about cheer (because they know they won't all be in it much longer).

Instead, they do what they would normally do in the bathroom: gossip.

"Mr. Schue is totally cute with Ms. Pillsbury. And yeah, she's kind of weird, but they should so get together," Brittany gushes obliviously.

"Uh," Santana begins puzzled. She thought the ring on Mr. Schue's hand and the fact that they met his pregnant wife made the reason he's not with the guidance counselor pretty obvious. "Brit, remember that crazy school nurse we met?"

"Oh," she says, reality finally dawning on her, "I forgot about her. But he's way more into Ms. Pillsbury. He should just leave his wife and be with the woman he clearly wants more."

Quinn wondered if he would do that. Mr. Schue was a really good guy and if he could leave his "pregnant" wife for someone he cared about more then what would stop Finn? Maybe he wouldn't have to find out the truth to leave her. And that scared her just as much as the part where she ends up alone. Because if he left her without knowing the truth then it would be because she just wasn't good enough. If he left because he found out the truth at least it could be blamed on a mistake.

"I don't see him leaving his wife," Santana speculates and it makes Quinn feel a bit better. "Oh," she begins stopping trying to wipe slushie from Quinn's temple as she realizes she has something she really wanted to mention, "did you see what happened the other day at glee though?"

"What?" both Brittany and Quinn respond having no ideas as to what she's talking about. Though, Quinn fears it's something about Puck and when he sang and possibly how she reacted or, even worse, how maybe it made Santana want him back.

"Puck was singing to _Rachel_," Santana said with disgust, "they're dating or something. I'd bet my life on it. And it's so…unnatural. I can't believe a guy I went out with would go out with _her_."

"I don't think she's that bad," Brittney offered honestly to the glares of the other girls. She added hastily, "But it's totally weird that Puck would go out with her."

Quinn's heart started racing, her breathing got shallow, her stomach started churning, and dizziness invaded her head. She gripped the sink in an effort not to collapse, making her slouch to grab the low surface.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked immediately as she stopped cleaning up her friend and leaned over with her to try and read her face.

"Yeah," Quinn assured softly, "just felt nauseous all of a sudden." She doesn't say why and neither do they. The thing that bothers her about it later though is that she's not sure it was baby induced.

Later, the next day as the all-important 3:30 time comes and passes her suspicions are confirmed when she see's Puck walk through the door, smile at Rachel, duck his head in embarrassment, and hug her. She feels her stomach churn again at the sight and she's glad that she's wearing sunglasses otherwise everyone might be able to tell that her eyes haven't left him.

Again, she feels like she's going to be sick. What is he doing with Rachel?

She sat there while he performed the other day completely captured by him. As he sang, smiled, smirked, she could feel him in every part of her. It was like every single cell in her body came alive (it wasn't the first time she felt it because of him, but the last time she ended up pregnant). It was a mistake to be so caught up in him though (both times) because it clearly caused her to miss that he had someone else (the same someone else her boyfriend wanted).

She starts a mantra in her head about how maybe Puck chose Rachel over football (which would have greatly perplexed her if she gave it any thought, but she totally, absolutely didn't…much) but Finn was choosing to save them over being friends with the glee kids and that was right (except it wasn't really them, it was him that got saved).

-o-o-o-

Two days after she gets her first slushie thrown at her and Santana and Brittney help her clean up, she knows it will never happen again.

Because Coach Sylvester just kicked her off the Cheerios.

She stood in the middle of the hallway and got the news she had been dreading. Everyone else's world continued around her as hers fell apart.

And there wasn't anyone there to help her put it back together or at least consol her about it. There was no one. Just her. Just as she had always known it would be eventually, she was alone. She knew, this would only be the first time where she wouldn't have anyone there for her.

She's determined to stay strong though. The tears prickle in her eyes but she knows she probably has a lot more, worse, moments ahead of her to face alone and if she can get through this one without crying (publically at least) maybe she'll make it through the others.

So she holds in the tears and races home to change out of her uniform before glee. She gather's all of her uniforms and prepares them to drop off and leave at school- they're not hers anymore. She get's back to school and leaves them in the Cheerio's locker room just as she planned. She goes to glee and feels a little bit better thanks to Mr. Schue letting them all throw the slushies at him. She takes in the encouragement that she'll have people there for her believing that they're only saying it because of Mr. Schue's prompt. And when practice is over she leaves glee, alone.

She gets through it all without crying. The strength it took to get through every second that she felt like crying is a small comfort. At least she was strong this once, even if she loses that in the months to come.

-o-o-o-

**Arty**

On Monday morning she comes to school for the very first time since the first week of freshman year without her cheer uniform on.

She sits in her car for a minute after she's turned it off. She didn't consider not showing up, though she's more than a bit apprehensive now that she's here. But she knows that if she doesn't go in it will be like she's too weak to face them. And with everything that is sure to come she knows that she can use all of the exercises in strength that come her way.

She takes a deep breath and gets out of her car.

As she approaches the building she's surprised to see all the kids from glee gathered together (the original glee kids at least). She's even more surprised when they wave to her and call her over.

She walks over to them and Kurt hands her a gift bag. She peers inside and pulls out a clear raincoat.

"We didn't know what color to get you and we couldn't agree on one at all so we settled on clear so it would go with anything," Rachel explains.

Arty pipes up with a smile, "I voted for a poncho over a coat, but I was vetoed by everyone."

"You're a summer and you should be wearing summer colors. But no one listened to that either," Kurt explained as he discretely pointed at Rachel as the one who clearly didn't let him do what he wanted.

"Thank you," she says sincerely. She didn't expect this of them. After all, if she herself hasn't made any of their lives miserable, then the people she used to call her friends did.

But she has a raincoat in her closet and she didn't dig it out for a reason. She puts the gift back in the bag and forces herself to stick to her decision even though explaining it could make her sound bitchy now- which she knows she can't afford to be to them anymore. She tells them evenly, "It's a thoughtful gift and I appreciate it, but I'm not going to wear it unless the weather calls for it. Wearing a raincoat into school would be like admitting that I deserve to get slushied. And I don't." She adds because she's still surprised by their kindness, "And neither do you." She doesn't say it smiling or especially sweetly, just stating a fact. She never did understand why some people would just stand there and take the crap her and her "friends" would do to them.

She holds her head high and proceeds around them into campus.

When she's only a few feet from the building she suddenly hears from beside her, "But when it does actually rain, you prefer ponchos, right?"

She looks to her right and finds Arty wheeling beside her. "I can't honestly say that I would," she answers somewhat regrettably.

"Darn it," he responds, but far too up beat to actually sound like he was at all sad or angry.

She gets to the door first and opens it for him. She could really use all the good karma she could get these days.

"Thank you," he says as he wheels himself through. "Where're headed?" he asks as they begin their way down the main hall.

"Calculus, Mr. Roberts," she says as she pauses at her locker (main hallway, top locker, at least the good location won't change even though she's not a cheerleader anymore).

"I'll roll with you," he offers with a smile, "I'm just down the hall from there in pre-cal with the scary Mrs. Krutch."

"I had her last year. Why do you think she's scary?" Quinn questions as she begins to head toward her class with him. She doesn't understand how he could find the woman scary. She was semi-strict and otherwise fairly normal, forgettable even.

"Have you ever seen _The Night Of The Living Dead_? Or at least seen the movie posters for it?" Arty questions in return.

"No," she answers.

He stops rolling and turns to her, "Seriously? Do you have something against zombie movies or something?"

"No," she answers uncertainly. He raises his eyebrows at her and somehow it seems so exaggerated on him that she can't help smiling as she admits, "I'm not the biggest fan of scary movies."

"Well," he offers, "that's understandable. But you have to look up the poster for the movie sometime because I swear that Mrs. Krutch looks like she could have been the creepy woman on it when she was younger."

They walk/roll on as Quinn asks skeptically, "That's your only reason for thinking she's scary?"

"That and the fact that I once saw her in a car, just her and what appeared to be about a dozen cats," he answers. He smiles up at her and confides, "Cats freak me out. With their beady eyes and everything. You're not a cat person, are you?"

"Never had one, never wanted one," she answers honestly. She wouldn't object to one if it was a gift or something, but she's not going out and getting one herself. But she doesn't tell him that part. It's nice talking to him and she doesn't want to ruin it.

" 'Atta girl," he says, but his face immediately crumples in dislike. They stop because they're at her class and he adds, "That's not one of those phrases I can pull off, is it?"

"Not really," she admits with a small smile.

He shrugs as if to say "oh well," and says with his usual bright smile, "See you later Quinn."

"Bye," she replies as he rolls down the hall.

She enters her class and realizes she got all the way there without getting slushied. It's only five minutes that she's managed to go without it, but at least she had those five minutes.

Plus, she may have been starting to make a real friend in Arty. He had always been nice to her, but had never dared to approach her outside of glee. She's grateful that he did now though, talking to him was a nice distraction from the glares and whispers she always seems to receive as she walks down the halls these days.

When calculus is finally over she turns out of the classroom to head to her next class (stopping by her locker was more time in the hallways so she already grabbed her book- she figured it wasn't the same as the raincoat thing, that was a giant slushie sign, this was just being smart). She was surprised to find that Arty was suddenly beside her again when she was only a dozen feet out her classroom door.

"Wow, this is unusual. I almost never usually see you in the halls and now, twice in a row," he says without looking at her.

She glances at him and thinks that there's something odd about it. She's not used to this type of situation though- genuine kindness- so maybe not. Maybe he's just not looking at her because he needs to see where he's wheeling himself. She doesn't stay concerned with the way he sounded for long though because she realizes she doesn't know what to say. Something bitchy, pointed, hurtful- those are the types of responses she's used to. Her only other practiced mode is flirting, but that really doesn't feel appropriate here. Nice, normal, casual conversation with someone who seems to be interested in transitioning from semi-acquaintance to friend- this, she's completely unfamiliar with.

Luckily, Arty doesn't only not notice her complete lapse in skill in this particular area, but he begins conversationally, "As someone who's walking with me I should probably warn you that on occasion I have been known to turn without taking notice of who's around me, which results in me running over them. It's like when you accidentally bump into someone while walking, just being hit by the chair makes it hurt more- I'm told." He chuckles a bit and adds, "You'd think I'd be a bit better with the chair after nearly ten years."

She's struck by the thought that that means that there was a time when he was able to walk and as just a little kid he lost that. She may not have much experience with "normal" conversation, but she knows better than to ask about or dwell on it. He's always seemed very light-hearted to her so she forces a smile and responds, "Why should you be less clumsy with the chair than everyone else is on their feet? You watch everyone stumble trying to learn the choreography at glee, their entire lives on their feet doesn't make them any smoother at it."

"Good point," he responds with a smile. "Though you hardly seem to stumble during the choreography. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen you slip even a little."

Her smile turns real at the compliment, but it fades quickly as she thinks about the reason she doesn't slip up at glee or cheer, ever. "I'm not supposed to fall," she says softly glancing away.

He's either nice enough not to comment or has realized he still needs to head to his class as they have reached hers.

She realizes where they are and is about to mention how they walked to her class instead. Did all people do this? Was it normal to just go to someone else's class if you had started a conversation with them and risk being late to your own class? Some sort of social courtesy she was unaware of?

"Our classes are in the same hall again, weird," Arty comments, "we both have math wing followed by science wing. I don't know about you, but those aren't my most favorite subjects so mornings are kind of a drag."

"Yeah," she agrees simply, "I guess I'll see you around then." She heads into her classroom thinking it was the last time she'd come across him today. It wasn't the biggest school, but it would be one hell of a coincidence if they had the same areas of the school the rest of the day.

As she sits in class she's reassured by the fact that Arty walked with her to a second class because it meant that the first one wasn't some kind of fluke. He actually seemed to want to be her friend. Normally, she wouldn't have been too crazy about the idea. But right now she knows that she can't be picky about the people she lets in her life because most people would prefer to be as far away from her as possible. Plus, if she has any chance at regaining her popularity she has to start somewhere and it would probably be a good idea to have some people genuinely on her side _when_ she rises to the top again.

When Quinn gets out of AP Biology she's stunned to see Arty just feet away and waving at her as he rolls in her direction. Three times in a row? This was…this was intentional she realizes.

"Arty," she begins questioningly, "is there a reason you're following me around today?"

He looks down guiltily before meeting her eyes again and asks, "You caught on?"

"Yeah," she confirms with a nod.

He explains, "You've been banished to Social Siberia. Most of us in glee have been there so we were all coming up with ways to make it…not as bad. I thought I could escort you to your classes and maybe it would deter any slushies, or at least you wouldn't be getting hit with one alone."

It was sweet and thoughtful and full of the best intentions. She wasn't used to people like that. She smiles and says sincerely, "Thank you Arty."

He shrugs modestly. He starts to roll in the direction of the main hallway as he comments, "Well, I wanted to try and do something and I know that I can't help you get cleaned up, like Mr. Schue said, if you did get slushied because unlike Kurt I'm not comfortable going in the girl's bathroom."

"It's sweet that you want to help," she begins, "but you don't have to keep escorting me to my classes." She knows what he's doing is really very nice, but she doesn't feel like she deserves it and somehow accepting his help for the whole day feels dishonest and greedy and she doesn't need to feel any worse than she already usually does.

"Everyone deserves at least one real friend," he returns, making his case for sticking out his mission.

She reaches her locker and pulls out her books before admitting, "I may not have a lot of experience with real friends, but I'm pretty sure they don't let each other sacrifice too much for the other. I don't want to be an inconvenience to you all day. I'll be fine on my own."

He knows she has a point and he also knows her schedule for the rest of the day and that it'd be a real challenge for him to make it to her classes and his on time for the remainder of the day. He sighs and gives in, "Okay. I won't roll with you to any more classes." He adds as a condition, "But I do have my first two classes near yours and I'll only agree to leave you now if you let me be your escort to them every day."

"Deal," she agrees easily and with a real smile again. She's glad he's sticking around because his theory about her not getting slushied with him had worked so far. And she's glad because he's made plans to continue to try to become her friend and that's a really nice thing to come out of all this.

"Alright," he says with his usual big grin. "Now should you get slushied keep in mind, 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of _them_, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.'"

"Deuteronomy," she says recognizing it, "I didn't know you were Christian."

He nods as he replies with his usual smile still in tact, "Yep, and I even play for my church's teen mass Sunday nights."

"You should have joined celibacy club," she comments before she realizes that she shouldn't mention it. How stupid is it that she mentioned a club she can't be a part of because she violated its one major rule?

He thankfully glosses over it with a joke, "Yeah I considered it, but I would have felt guilty for being in it because I'm not exactly celibate by choice, it's kind of just more a condition, one that I do spend time trying to change."

"Right," she comments understandingly and hopes they breeze past this awkward club-dropping of hers quickly.

"Okay, I shall leave you for real this time and head to class. You're sure you'll be okay?" he checks.

"Absolutely," she assures and, having just started her first real friendship in God knows how long, she actually believes things will be better than she expected.

"Then I will see you later. Real later this time not my fake lying later like earlier," he rambles. "Bye," he ends not so smoothly as he turns and rolls off.

He sees one of the school jackasses headed his way, and therefore Quinn's way, with a slushie in hand. He glances back and sees that though Quinn is shuffling books in her locker around, she's noticed it too. He rolls towards the jerk in the letterman jacket, it is the direction he needs to go in to get to his locker anyway so he has that defense, and gets a little close to the guy. He makes sure to turn his chair into the guy and hope he's done it at the right moment to avoid disaster.

He turns and sees that the guy has tripped a few feet from Quinn, spilling the slushie before he reached his target. Quinn did catch some minor splashage on her shoes and sweater sleeve, but at least it isn't all over her.

"I'm so sorry," he says acting like it was just an accident fairly successfully. He glances back at Quinn and adds with a smile, "See, I told you I'm still a klutz with this chair."

"Thank you," she mouths to him with a grateful smile.

He modestly ducks his head and lifts it again with a brief smile as he waves to her before heading off to class.

She gets slushied later as she's walking with Finn after lunch, but at least she had a morning that was much better than she expected. She thought Finn would be the only one to talk to her all day, but the glee kids made a nice gesture and then she got to start becoming friends with Arty. Plus, Arty saved her. After all the times she never saved anyone from horrible fates and the times she was the person inducing the horrible fate on someone, she got saved. It didn't feel fair for the person she was to get treated so nicely by someone, but as she tried not to cry after cleaning up the slushie alone in the bathroom that day, she knew that she's not turning any offers of friendship away no matter how much she doesn't deserve it. Right now she's alone and if she has to remain that way getting attacked each day, despite all her strength, she doesn't think she'll make it through the next few months. So if people being there for her means abandoning what she's known and being nice to people who aren't popular and will only continue hinder her popularity, then so be it.

She thought she'd have to be alone for all of it. But she knows she may not survive alone. And today Arty showed her that all she has to do to not be alone is recognize and accept kindness when it's offered to her. From now on, she vows to do just that.

(Though, when the truth comes out that she's been lying about the true paternity of her baby, she worries that any friends she manages to make, she'll lose, and she'll end up alone again. But temporary friends are better than never having any at all. Because as Arty said, everyone deserves at least one real friend- and it's just a condition of her new life that hers aren't going to last.)

**

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter!**

Next chapter spotlights Quinn getting help from Mercedes and Tina and Ms. Pillsbury.

**Remember, REVIEWS= Love. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you to the wonderful people who reviewed and to all of you who added this story to your alert list! I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter. I had been trying to make progress towards finishing the story before uploading any new chapters and I did- I'm just starting the last chapter, chapter 6- but I was rather slow in writing it as I've been sick.

From now on though, I believe I should be able to add a chapter a day. That will leave the last chapter posted after the next new episode and therefore make this story AU, but then again since I didn't take anything from the previews into account (like that flash of an uber cute baking scene) I suppose this is already AU.

Anyway, this chapter is longer. There's no specific reason for that, I just have issues with writing evenly.

Ah, and since I forgot it last time….**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

**Redemption

* * *

**

She doesn't think about the fact that she's pregnant. In fact she actively tries to _not _think about it.

Every time she gets sick to her stomach she doesn't let a single thought stray through her head that it was baby related. She just got sick. End of story.

Every time she's gotten slushied she tells herself that it's because she's in glee and she's not a cheerio any more and they're nuts anyway. (And it's absolutely not because she's the pregnant former number one advocate for abstinence. And it's absolutely not because she clawed her way up the social ladder by pointing out the faults of others and now she made a mistake bigger than the people she ruined ever had and they're just getting their rightful revenge.)

And every time she feels the urge to let her hand wander to the infamous area where her baby girl grows within her, she forces her hand to stay in place or touch something, anything else. There's no reason for her hand to go to a spot where there isn't anything.

It's a heavy case of denial. One that she knows she won't be able to keep up much longer. But it's one of the only things that's been getting her through each day since she found out about the baby that isn't there.

Today, unfortunately, she's forced out of denial the moment she woke up.

Normally, since she found out about the baby, she's gone to sleep on her back or slightly on her side. This morning she woke up flat on her stomach. She had been careful because she didn't know if it was good for the baby or not and asking her doctor seemed like the type of question only a dumb knocked-up high school girl would ask.

As soon as her alarm went off and she reached out to stop it she realized she was on her stomach and sprang up immediately. Her hand traveled to the spot where a baby certainly was without a second thought. Panic flooded her mind. What if she hurt the baby? What if her not wanting to sound stupid in front of her doctor just caused some irreversible horror for her baby? Or worse, what if she just killed her?

Ignoring everything in her normal morning routine she goes straight to her computer and googles an answer as she dial's her doctor's number (she memorized it in case of emergency- and so there's no card in her possession or number stored in her phone for her parents to find). Luckily, she finds her answer before she gets her doctor's answering machine. There's two doctors and a ton of pregnant women writing in on the first page she's clicked on. The doctors said it's safe in early pregnancy and there's many pregnant women who wrote in saying that they slept on their stomachs well into their twentieth weeks. She's fourteen weeks so she's assured that she didn't just do something to harm her baby.

(Yes, fourteen weeks. Thank god Finn didn't read anything in that doctors office about how they couldn't tell the sex of the baby until the twelfth week at the earliest. If he did, her jig would have been up because it had only been ten weeks since the hot tub.)

She spends twenty minutes going through the pages she's found, just to make sure, and finally sits back in her desk chair with a sigh. It's then that she realizes that her left hand hasn't left it's spot on her abdomen since she woke up.

Her little girl is in there. And if she closes her eyes she can recall hearing her heartbeat during her last doctor's appointment like she's back in the room.

She cries for the next fifteen minutes curled up in her desk chair because she always thought she'd have kids, just never like this. She cries because she doesn't not want this, her, as much as she should. She cries because there's no denying it today, she's having a baby.

Eventually, she notices the time and pulls herself together. It's day three of being at the bottom of the social ladder and she refuses to miss school and let those idiots who are trying to make her feel like crap win. Plus, she can't miss her classes. Her academic status has been one thing she's been able to hold on to.

-o-o-o-

**Mercedes and Tina**

She gets ready for school in a hurry. She gets a call from Finn as she's just out of her quick shower because they were supposed to meet up before school and he wants to know why she's late. She lies and tells him her parents got her caught up. If she told him the truth, if she expressed any concern for the baby, he'd take it as a sign that she wants to keep her and she can't because she can't trap him into giving up everything for a baby that isn't his (he's too good of a person to do that to).

She races to school and pulls into the parking lot with only six minutes until classes start. She walks briskly toward campus with a sort of tunnel vision, her only objective being arriving in class on time, which is why she doesn't see the slushie coming at all. That, and the fact that it came from behind. Yesterday, after fourth period, at least that jackass who did it did so to her face. This jackass snuck up on her and dumped it over her head and ran away (coward).

She's so caught off guard by it she doesn't even react other to stop in her tracks as the frozen drink numbs all the parts of her it's touched.

"Oh hell no," she hears from behind her, "You better run!"

"Quinn," she hears someone call from behind her and suddenly she has Tina on her left and Mercedes on her right. "A-a-ar-are you alright?" Tina questions.

"Of course she ain't alright, she just got slushie dumped," Mercedes answers for her. Her face softens ever so slightly and she offers, though it sounds more like an order, "Come on. We're cleaning you up."

She follows them without a word. She's never gotten the impression that either of them particularly like her, which seems right, she's never given them a reason to. But, she can't go to class like this and if she's going to be in the nearest girls bathroom for a while cleaning up, she might as well not be there alone.

"Get the stash," Mercedes tells Tina as soon as they enter the halls of the school.

Thankfully the halls are fairly empty and the bathroom isn't far so hardly anyone catches her looking the ways she does, with that mix of ice and syrup all over her.

Just after they've entered the bathroom Tina comes barreling through the door with a bag. She pulls out two towels and hands one to Quinn. "Thanks," she says softly, but the two girls don't seem to be paying attention. Instead they're by the sinks pulling stuff out of their stash and setting it up. There's shampoo and conditioner and a hairdryer and a straightener and a curling iron and hairspray and a hairbrush. She realizes, she's in the company of two very smart girls.

She wipes off her face and hair with the towel and tells them, "I don't think I have time for all that. I really shouldn't be missing an entire class and that looks like an entire class worth of time."

"It's cool," Mercedes begins, "Tina TA's in the office sixth period and she has hall passes, any kind of notes you could want actually, we're all covered."

"I mean I shouldn't miss what we do in class," Quinn clarifies.

"Wh-what class?" Tina questions.

"Calculus, Mr. Roberts," she answers.

"He-He's my AP Calculus teacher. Well, this school doesn't offer AP Ca-calculus so I take it on-line in the office, TA when I'm done with my work, and Mr. Roberts is my supervisor. I-I can find out what you did in class today and let you know and I can help you with it if you need," Tina offers.

Mercedes takes this as an all problems solved and takes her hand and drags her over to the sinks. She adds to the reasons to let them thoroughly clean her up, "You know your hair won't stay this blonde if you leave this slushie crap in it."

"Alright," she concedes. They tell her to put her head down in the sink and she follows their instructions as they wash her hair in the sink as if it's a common activity for them.

It's a very nice thing they're doing and she knows it (just like she knew Arty was doing it the other day). She vowed the other day that she wouldn't let kindness slip away so she knows she has to make an effort to be friendly to them. With them washing her hair, talking isn't really possible for her though she can faintly hear garbles of conversation exchanging between them as they remove all the slushie from her hair.

As soon as they're through they wrap the other towel around her head and ask her if she brought any clothes with her for an occasion like this. She tells them about the bag in her car and gives them the keys. Mercedes heads out.

They're going to let her finish getting slushie off of her (hence the clothes change) before they proceed with her hair (if they didn't her now clean hair could end up dirty again). So, it's just her and Tina alone and waiting.

She's always taken imitative before and she may have froze the other day with Arty, but she was determined not to this time. She asks conversationally, "Are you the only one in AP Calculus?"

"Y-y-yeah," she stutters, "but maybe next year when you take it there maybe more." She see's the look of confusion cross Quinn's face and rushes on, "Sin-since you're a junior and already in calculus I just assumed you'd take it next year."

"Yeah," she confirms. Trying to keep up normal conversation she asks, "Aren't you a junior too? How did you end up in AP already?"

She shrugs looking bashful and says simply, "I like math." Feeling self-conscious she elaborates, "Wi-wi-with math there are always answers for everything. And it's just comes naturally."

She nods. Before she has the chance to find something else to say, Mercedes comes back through the door with the bag in hand. She hands it over along with the keys and they give her the other towel she had used, one side damp, the other dry. She goes in one of the stalls to finish getting the slushie off of her. It was all down her back this time. She couldn't decide if it was better or worse than being in her face.

Quiet is unsettling given what they're doing and the strangeness of the company they've found themselves in. Luckily, Mercedes is a talker so when she starts making conversation it feels more like a natural habit coming out rather than something forced to try and avoid the awkwardness. She asks as soon as Quinn is in the stall, "Did you chose red for your car because of like school spirit or you just like it?"

"It was a surprise birthday gift from my dad so I didn't chose it at all," Quinn answers.

"Oh," Mercedes responds, disappointed that the reason isn't more interesting. She asks Tina, "Did you look up my class rank for me yesterday?"

"Yes," Tina answers.

Before Tina can finish answering Mercedes, Mercedes jumps in and explains to Quinn (it would be rude to leave her out of the conversation and she's been left out before, she's not doing it to someone else no matter how much she unsure of them), "Tina looked up your class schedule for Arty, that's how he knew where you were all day, and why we were cool with approaching you because Arty said you were all right. But then Tina was bored in the office Monday and decided to search through other people's class schedules and Puck came in, don't know why, and he saw what she was doing and for some reason wanted to know his class rank. It is annoying how they only let us know them once a year even though they change every term. Anyway, Tina didn't know she could access that, but tried and it worked and let him know his and so I wanted to know my class rank and other peoples- gave her a list to get me yesterday."

Quinn follows the story as she tries to make sure all of the slushie is off of her but she doesn't comment. She can hear shuffling around and assumes its Tina getting out the list.

Her assumption is confirmed by Tina then reading off, "Mercedes, you're 152 out of 362 sophomores."

Mercedes considers it and concludes, "That sounds about right. Knew I wouldn't be anywhere near the top. Where's Kurt?"

Tina scans her list and answers, "135."

"Damn," Mercedes swears, "I owe him ten bucks now." She tells Tina, "Alright just tell me all the rest of them." For Quinn's benefit she adds, "I asked Tina to get everyone in glee's ranking, just out of curiosity and to see how we all measure up-not to sound like Rachel." She adds to Tina, "Finish up the sophomores first."

Quinn breaks in quickly, surprised because she had never given it any thought, "You and Kurt are sophomores?"

"Yeah," Mercedes answers, "Rachel too."

"And Rachel is fifteenth in your cl-class," Tina announces.

"What?!" Mercedes exclaims, "Are you sure about that?"

"Po-positive," Tina answers.

"That's, ugh, just finish the rest of them," Mercedes tells Tina, losing her interest in them a bit.

Tina reads off her list, "All the rest are juniors and we have 324 people in our class so it will be out of 324. Uh, starting at the bottom, Br-Brittney is 197. I think that's the lowest you can go and be academically eligible. F-Finn is right near there at 1-188."

"Sounds like you need to get your man some tutoring," Mercedes suggest to Quinn.

"Tried that," Quinn says as she tries to smooth out her clothes that look a lot more wrinkled than she'd like from being in that bag, "can't seem to get him to be very academically motivated."

Mercedes shrugs and motions for Tina to continue.

Tina reads off, "Matt is 150. Mike is 122. Puck is 103."

"Seriously?" Mercedes breaks in, "I thought Kurt said that he said he hardly ever attends his classes, or never attends one of his classes, or something like that."

Tina shrugs and offers, "Wh-when he does go he must do okay because, well our class isn't very ac-academically oriented and that rank probably means he has a B/B- average."

Mercedes eyebrows still raised surprised, "Who knew?"

Quinn had finished getting dressed a second ago, but she remained in the stall the second Puck's name came up again, just in case. She's glad she did too because she's sure she couldn't have hid her surprise. She knew he had more common sense than Finn (which made talking him into things more difficult), but she, like Mercedes, was sure he didn't give a crap about school. Maybe he didn't, but he was doing decently anyway.

Tina continues, "N-n-next is Santana at 91. And Arty is 33."

"What about you and Quinn?" Mercedes is quick to question when Tina pauses as if she had all the names.

"I-I'm tenth," Tina announces with a smile.

"Congrats girl," Mercedes says offers their special handshake they came up with a few weeks ago (it explodes at the end, cheesy, but they like it anyway).

"But," Quinn begins as she finally exits the stall, "You're in AP calc. why aren't you first? No one else in our class is taking math at that level."

Tina shrugs and explains, "I-I'm good at math. And I do pr-pretty well at other subjects, but I don't really try so not all my grades are what they could be."

Not trying and she's tenth, that kind of depresses Quinn. She was eighth last year, the last time they actually let them know their class rank (just after the third quarter ended) and she had worked her ass off to get there. If it was possible she had worked even harder since because the top was so near, but it'd be just how things had been going for her lately if she was now twentieth or somewhere even further from the top. Not that her parents really cared about any of this. As long as she had above a three point GPA they were satisfied- much more concerned with her popularity and religious dedication.

"What about Quinn?" Mercedes asks as she takes the paper from Tina's hand to read for herself. She glances at the paper and then up at Tina who's smiling. She glances back down at the paper to make sure her eyes aren't playing tricks on her and questions Tina, "Damn, this is the type of thing you tell a girl when she's had a bad morning. Why didn't you say it first?"

Quinn sets her bag with the dirty clothes down and takes the towel out of her hair to try and seem casual and not as eager as she is to hear what they say.

"You tell her," Mercedes urges Tina.

Quinn waits, face carefully trained to seem careless (old habits are still coming in handy).

Tina, still smiling, announces, "You're first."

First? She can hardly believe what she heard. It's too good to be true, especially with how her life has gone lately. Her eyes widen and a smile breaks out, all thoughts of acting careless forgotten completely. She checks, "First? Really?"

Tina nods, "Af-after the end of last semester and our first quarter this year, according to the same re-records the counselors have, you're first in our class. Congratulations."

She can't stop smiling. She laughs a little and covers her mouth with her hand as she does so. This is all so ridiculously unexpected. It's the best news she's gotten, possibly ever.

"I knew you were smart, since Arty said he followed you to AP classes Monday, but damn. Aren't you excited? You could be like valedictorian of your class." Mercedes asks.

"Yeah, it's really good news," she says still smiling, "I worked really hard to get it and…and it's going to be extremely hard to keep it." She adds softly, "Especially considering…" she knows she doesn't have to finish the sentence for them to know what she's talking about.

"Y-y-you'll stay first," Tina says encouragingly.

"Yeah," Mercedes agrees and points out, "And even if you don't you're going to be so close to the top that you're definitely going to be able to get a full ride scholarship somewhere. So you're like golden."

She laughs a little at that. And it certainly is comforting to know that just because she lost some of her extra curricular activities from her college applications (being popular, cheerleading, being president of the celibacy club she started), she still has plenty to get her in to a lot of schools. All she has to do is keep working hard.

"Thank you," she says gratefully to both of them.

"Who knew me being nosy could turn out so good. Now get over here and we'll get your hair done so your smart ass doesn't miss your next class," Mercedes orders.

She still smiling, for real, and does as they ask as they have her flip her head upside down and blow-dry it.

"Curled or straight?" Tina asks as she checks that they had plugged in and turned on both tools after they've finished drying her hair.

"You don't have to do either," Quinn answers, "I had rushed to get ready this morning anyway. I was running late."

Mercedes ignores her answer and says to Tina, "I think curled would be best. I'll text Kurt and ask him."

Seconds later Kurt has texted back and Mercedes proceeds to curl Quinn's hair.

"You have really healthy hair," Mercedes comments, "my sister's a hairdresser and she tried to teach me the biz last summer, but I couldn't take touching so many people's horrible hair."

"Thanks," she responds, "it's the shampoo and conditioner, I think. I use the same ones you guys brought actually."

"We know," Tina tells her with a smile that says that there's more to tell, but rather than continuing herself she glances at Mercedes, who takes the cue.

Mercedes explains, "Despite what we said last glee to Mr. Schue about helping you, we weren't really so sure. But then Rachel pointed out that we don't know that we wouldn't act the same way you have if we were popular. And as much as I don't like to admit when she has a point, she had a point. So we were talking in the hall one day about putting together an emergency kit- mostly for you unless any of us start getting slushied too. I think your friends heard us though because the next day they were talking near us in the hall and the conversation sounded all rehearsed. Brittney made some comment about how she wanted her blonde hair to be like yours and Santana responded with what products you use on it. It was cheesy, but it was still kind of nice of them."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. She thought they may not care about her now that she's not popular. They certainly can't be seen with her at all after her downfall, which she doesn't blame them for. Even if they did try to talk to her in a hallway she would tell them not to. Her lack of popularity is no reason to sacrifice their own.

"D-do you have some make-up in your bag?" Tina asks, distracting Quinn from her thoughts.

"Just mascara and lip-gloss, it's all I wear," Quinn answers still wondering about her former teammates.

Mercedes stops doing her hair and comes around to face her, as does Tina. She studies her face as she concludes, "You're really not wearing anything else. I thought you had to be and it'd definitely need touching up after the slushie and washing your hair but damn, that's some good complexion." She adds, "It's so not fair, I get like a break out a week."

"Uh-huh," Tina agrees.

She bites her lip in hesitation, but confesses, "My mom would kill me if I actually needed make-up."

A look passes over both girls' faces in front of her, like they've just realized that just because she's popular it doesn't mean her life has been any easier or happier.

They're nice enough not to dwell on it or scared of asking for elaboration. Instead, Tina offers brightly, "We-well, I have lots of stuff in my bag, i-i-if you want to try something different."

It's a nice offer, but there are a few reasons she doesn't want to accept it. One, Tina's make up isn't for her at all. They're completely different and if she's being honest she kind of hates and doesn't understand the whole goth thing at all. She knows better than to be that honest though so she goes with reason number two, "Thank you, but I really couldn't. If my parents caught me with more make-up, or if anyone they knew caught me, they'd flip out." Her parents are going to be angry enough when they find out the truth, she doesn't need them to find any other reasons to look at her with disappointment before that fateful day comes when she can't hide it anymore.

She doesn't add the part about how her parents will soon have other reasons to be mad at her- the baby that she never mentions- but they're smart girls and they seem to pick it up anyway. Again, they're either nice enough or not courageous enough to mention it. Either way, she's grateful.

Mercedes returns to curling her hair and all is silent. But given that Mercedes is in the room that only lasts about twenty seconds before she complains, "I cannot believe Kurt beat me. How could he be ranked higher than me? And how can Puck be higher in your guys' class than both me and Kurt are in ours?"

Tina simply shrugs and looks at Quinn as if she should take this one. Quinn doesn't know what to say though. She doesn't know Kurt or Mercedes well enough to speculate on them and she's not supposed to know Puck well enough to offer any insight (and right now, she's not sure she really knows him anyway).

Mercedes doesn't really need a response to continue talking though. She elaborates, "I mean Kurt spends half of every day copying dance moves from old musicals and music videos. I study."

Tina says nothing again, but gives Quinn another look and she starts to think that maybe this is some sort of Mercedes-thing, like they're supposed to stay quiet and Mercedes will get through her entire rant on her own.

Her theory is quickly squashed when Mercedes then asks, "And Puck doing better than both of us, that just don't make sense. You know him, right Quinn? How's he doing it? Is he sleeping with his teachers or something?"

Quinn freezes, she doesn't know how to respond without sounding guilty. She's usually so practiced at lying, but she never prepared for this. She never even considered that she'd be having a conversation with the two girls she's currently with, much less be discussing academics and Puck.

Luckily, Tina speaks up immediately, "A-ac-actually I was surprised by his rank too and I-I looked up his class schedule. It's all re-regular level classes and mostly m-m-male teachers. But one thing that's definitely helping his grades is his elective, guitar."

"He already knows how to play," Mercedes says, making the connection. "So how's he doing it?" Mercedes questions again to Quinn.

"I don't know him that well," she lies easily, the well-practiced skill coming back to her.

"Isn't he Finn's best friend?" Mercedes questions not believing Quinn simply because it didn't make sense to her that she couldn't know anything about the guy.

She shrugs, playing nonchalant and responds, "I don't spend much time with the two of them together and Puck's not really a talker. Finn doesn't talk about him much either, except he did recently say that Puck's going after mom's or cougars or something like that." It wasn't that recent that Finn had told her that, but she figures that the girls won't know that and she's learned that the best way to hide a lie is to use some truth in it and technically Finn had told her that once.

"That explains why he didn't fight April layin' one on him," Mercedes says laughing at the memory.

Tina laughed too and Quinn tried to force herself to join in, but that had been an unexpected moment for her. She hadn't picked him so she certainly didn't expect the feeling that came with seeing him with someone else- punched in the gut and can't breathe.

"He had something with your Santana too, right?" Mercedes questions, bringing Quinn back to the present.

"Yeah, briefly," she adds thinking about it, "a couple of times."

"I guess I get going for him," Mercedes speculates, "I mean he's hot. Really hot. Like really, really hot."

The emphasis really isn't necessary. She remembers. She remembers really, really well.

"But," Mercedes continues, "he's so clearly a boy with issues. Beating people up and all."

"He-he hasn't been doing that lately," Tina points out.

"True," Mercedes agrees, "and he has been nice to us in glee. Kurt said that he'll talk to him when in a group. And he never once acted like it was difficult to lift me all the times we did "Keep Holding On."

"An-and he's helped Arty with his wheel chair and stairs a few times. And m-me-me too. I dropped my books and he picked them up and ha-handed them to me. Didn't acknowledge I was th-there, but," Tina ends with a shrug.

"Yeah, he kind of says means stuff sometimes still, but acts nice. It's kind of messed up, which is why I don't get why Rachel dated him," Mercedes begins.

Tina gives her this look that says, "No, don't go there." A look so big Quinn catches it in the mirror very easily.

She knows why Tina's warning and why Mercedes now looks like she know she just made a mistake. She appreciates the tiptoeing around some of the other things, but this one, she can actually talk about. It's a lot less complicated than everything else in her life. She informs them, "I know Rachel wants Finn. I'm pretty sure the entire student body knows." They still seem weary so she finishes the path they were clearly on (and have clearly discussed before) for them, "And you think that she went out with Puck because he's technically close to Finn."

"Finn's totally more into you though," Mercedes assures and then realizes that the "more" was a mistake, she had put her foot in her mouth again. She cringes in realization.

"We'll see," she says with a small sigh, because really, who knew what was going to happen with anything anymore. She smiles a little, just to let them know that they shouldn't feel bad for thinking the exact same thing as her. It's not like they could help it, they all saw the same things.

Changing the topic she points out, "You guys aren't wearing your raincoats."

Tina half-shrugs and answers, "Y-y-you had a point."

"You don't deserve it and neither do we. And wearing the coats was letting them win," Mercedes continues.

She's glad they listened to her. She thought it may be taken the wrong way or that she actually was just being self-righteous. But they listened and she wasn't just clinging to some element in her old life when she realized it, so she was right, she didn't deserve the slushies and neither did they.

They're finished with her hair in another five minutes. While Mercedes finished curling it, Tina had written out all their notes that she planned on dropping in the office so they didn't get unexcused absences. They're done just before the bell rings signaling the end of first period.

She thanks them sincerely for helping her and tells them that she'd see them later. They weren't friends exactly still because they were just helping her clean up and they got along while they did it, but it's not like they made some great bond and made plans to hang out. It was just an act of kindness. She was grateful for what it was and added that she'd see them later just in case there was any chance that they wanted to be more. She felt a little less alone with them and she's smart enough to cling to it.

When they part ways they say "You're welcome"s and "No problem"s, and agree that they will indeed see her later, but it ends there.

She heads to class, looking nothing like a slushie had been dumped on her already, but she goes alone. Her support was fleeting. Then again, this just confirms what she already knew in her heart. She's alone.

-o-o-o-

She spends the entire night thinking about her class rank. She's number one. It feels really good, empowering to know that she could accomplish something like that. She wonders what else she could accomplish.

Today, she woke up unable to deny the fact she's having a baby, and the thought has stuck with her all day. She kept almost bringing it up with Mercedes and Tina and then when Arty met her to walk her to second period she almost slipped up and told him what actually made her late. Then, when she was eating lunch with Finn, her hand strayed there, exactly where she never let it. Finn didn't catch on. But a pair of eyes caught hers as she had just realized where it was and quickly moved it away. Of course it had to be the only person in the world that knew the truth. He was a couple of tables away, but she saw him watching her, and her eyes stayed with him for a minute as his eyes searched hers. Finn put his arm around her, not paying attention as he continued talking to the person on his other side and she watched Puck glance away, turn to his food before him. She looked away then, to the arm around her. She realized, she'd been thinking about the baby all day and in all honesty she'd been thinking about Puck too, and not the guy whose arm was around her.

While she promptly ignored the Puck part of the realization (that's way more than she can possibly deal with at the moment), she lets herself indulge the other realization (just for the rest of the day, she swears she'll go back to denial after). Her parents, thank God, go to bed early as usual so she locks herself in her room without suspicion. She finished her homework hurriedly in the afternoon, already having this planned. She lays down, hand resting on her abdomen, and thinks about all the things that could possibly come.

She used to pray for the future. She used to always pray for things like world peace or that she'd get into a good college or never seriously injure herself in cheerleading. She realizes that since she found out she was pregnant, she's only been praying for the present. She's been praying to make it through each day. She's been praying that, any given day, no matter what's happening, her parents don't find out the truth. She's been praying that she'll wake up and all of this will be some horrible vision sent from God to teach her the consequences of pre-marital sex- or anything but the world as it really is for her. And silently, quickly, as she's falling asleep and can still semi-pretend to be in denial, she's prayed for the baby, for its health, safety.

She hasn't prayed for the future anymore because she has no idea what it's going to be anymore. She used to think that she'd get into some great school really far from Lima and in a place that wouldn't remind her of Ohio at all. She and Finn would part amicably right after graduation and she'd meet the real love of her life in college. He'd be some really great guy from a completely normal loving family. He'd be smart and he'd make her laugh and he wouldn't care if she was a cheerleader or Christian or anything her parents wanted at all. He'd just want her and love her. He'd propose by the time they graduate and they'd get married. She hoped he'd be the type of guy who would persuade her to screw what her parents want (a normal traditional wedding they can invite all their friends to) and elope on a beach somewhere. They'd have kids and she'd never tell them the way she wanted them to be, always be happy with exactly who they are.

Now, all that seems so impossible. What great guy like the one she dreamed up would want someone who had a baby in high school? Because a baby wasn't part of the dream, but neither was having given one up. She's stuck either way on that one. And she has this dreading feeling that no matter what she decides- keep her baby, give it up- she's going to spend the rest of her life regretting it, but stuck with the decision anyway. She's sixteen and she's not equipped to be making choices this difficult.

She lets her fingers stroke over the spot where her little girl grows and knows that she already made a decision. Mrs. Schuester was there and she felt so bad about lying to Finn and she worried the crazy lady- being at her school in all- may say something to the wrong people about her being pregnant. So she said she was giving up the baby, because it really did make the most sense to give her to someone who could actually provide for her. But, she knows she can still change her mind. The thing about deciding to give her to Mrs. Schuester is that it isn't a legal arrangement so she can backtrack on her promise right up through the day she has her daughter. So, if she wants to, she can still keep her.

But if she keeps her daughter Finn has to know the truth because he's a nice guy and he doesn't deserve to be trapped like that. If she keeps her daughter then she needs money and she needs to still get through school and get a scholarship somewhere. Her parents were supposed to pay for school so all she had been worrying about was getting in somewhere far away, but now she needs the financial help. And she still has to make sure she goes to school because if she doesn't she knows she may always blame that on her little girl and she doesn't want to ever feel anything like that, not even a little.

There's a lot of if's and maybe's and hopefully's riding on her keeping the baby and everything turning out okay. It'd be a risk, and there's no getting around that.

If she gives up the baby then her daughter gets to be raised by two parents, have a great dad if she does indeed give her to Mr. Schue and his wife, be provided for financially in a way she could probably never do. If she gives up her baby then she can go to school, probably still on scholarship because after they find out about the baby there's still very little chance her parents are paying, and she can pretend she's not the girl who got pregnant in high school and has a little girl growing up in a small town in Ohio. She can still meet the nice guy she dreamed about, but she can never tell him the truth because he'd never look at her the same way again. She'd have to live a lie, and that's not much different than how she's always been living, pretending, always playing a part. She always thought it'd be one of the things she'd get away from when she went to college, but if she gives up her baby it will certainly follow her forever.

She feels slightly condemned either way, and she feels guilty for even thinking that.

Midnight comes and she's not any closer to clarity. She's supposed to resume denial now that the day is technically over. She strokes the hand she still has over her stomach, rubs the spot her daughter is in. Five more minutes, she decides, she'll start forcing herself to pretend again in five more minutes.

-o-o-o-

**Ms. Pillsbury**

When morning comes she awakes to find her hand still on her abdomen. She sighs and knows today is another day where denial just isn't possible.

And if she can't deny today then she is going to be proactive and try to take some control over her life again. She resolves that she'll go see Ms. Pillsbury during brunch between third and forth periods. Ms. Pillsbury had been trying to schedule a "talk" with her for a while, but since she kept skipping it Ms. Pillsbury finally stopped sending passes and simply sent a note that whenever she's ready to discuss what's going on with her, her door is always open.

She walks to her first two classes with Arty. He's still really good at distracting her from the whispers and his presence still prevents slushies being thrown at her so she's very grateful.

Tina finds her on her way to her third period class and gives her the promised notes and assignment from the class she missed the previous day while they were in the bathroom. She talks to her a bit, finds out what class she missed while she was helping her (AP English), and offers to loan her her notes from that class as she has it too (5th period). Tina accepts the offer graciously and they make plans to meet up at Quinn's locker after school to return each other's notes. It's still not the start of a friendship, but it's nice anyway.

Finally, the time comes and she heads to Ms. Pillsbury's office. The thing about her office is that it's at the back of a hallway where a bunch of teachers/coaches and administrators are. Most of them aren't in them at this time of day and the exit by Ms. Pillsbury's door is to the teacher's parking lot and really isn't the smartest way to ditch since she has those giant windows in her office. All of this is why she begins to feel uneasy when she hears lots of footsteps following her down the relatively empty and unused hallway.

After she turns a corner, out of sight of the hallway she entered from now, and while she's still a corner a way from Ms. Pillsbury's, she hears the footsteps quicken. Suddenly, two guys in letterman's jackets are in front of her and two are behind her (part of the school's sucktacular hockey team, she's pretty sure).

She refuses to show fear, even if she's terrified. They each have a slushie in their hand so she knows what's coming. She glances at the slushies and comments, "How original." They look confused so she tries at an insult again, "You boys needed support to throw something at me? No one was man enough to do it alone? Or was it that you're actually aware of your complete lack of aim. You know there's a reason why cheerleaders never cheer you guys on, no point on cheering on someone who can't get a puck in a net from three feet away." She knows she's getting slushied no matter what, might as well make it count.

The boys seemed to have caught on to the fact that she's insulting them and exchanged angry, caveman-like grunts before launching the icy drinks in their hands at her. As she predicted, one of them manages to almost miss her completely. Either that or he intended to break from the pack and just get her jeans. Still one slushie on her pants and three towards her face and chest is absolutely horrible.

They snicker like little boys and then run off like them too. Everyone's so cowardly about throwing freezing drinks at the pregnant girl lately.

She stands there for a minute, trying to just breathe and not fall apart.

She hears heals clicking down the hall quickly and opens her eyes to Ms. Pillsbury rushing toward her. "Quinn," she calls, "I thought I heard some kind of commotion out here. Oh, I should have come to check it out the noises sooner."

"It's fine," she says shortly, "if it wasn't now they just would have bought more slushies and found me later."

"It is not fine," Ms. Pillsbury says firmly. She looks like she wants to lay a supportive hand on her or something, but is hesitating greatly at the sight of the messy slushie.

"Come with me," she instructs instead. She rushes a head of Quinn back to her office and pulls out a bag from behind her desk, the one Tina had the previous day. Apparently they stash it in her office. She took out a towel and met Quinn at the door to her office, stopping her from going in and getting slushie anywhere inside.

As Quinn begins to wipe herself off, Ms. Pillsbury comments, "Oh, that's not going to do." She frets for a second, but then her eyes light up and she suggests, "How about I take you to the hospital. Their decontamination showers are great. Very fast, you could be back here in no time. And it would be free, I know everyone there."

She is completely covered in sticky slushie and a shower does sound really good right now, but she knows she can't go there. She explains, "I can't go there. My parents don't know yet and they know people at the hospital, people who would tell them about me." She knows she doesn't have to say more. What her parents don't know about is pretty obvious.

Ms. Pillsbury nods a little, looks off with her eyes still wide and thinking. Her eyes light up again and she suggests, "Okay, then how about my apartment. I only live five minutes away and if you can promise that you shower quickly we can go get you completely cleaned up and you can be back by fifth period. You really can't stay like that. It's so…messy."

"Are we allowed to do that?" Quinn asks skeptically. It's a nice offer and she does want to accept, but she doesn't want to get in any kind of trouble that could further screw up her future- she's done enough of that.

Ms. Pillsbury nods and smiles and then says, "No. Not really. I can get you out of class but I really shouldn't be bringing students to my home. But these are special sanitary issues and I'm sure the school would understand that it's health related." She says this like she almost believes it, but then adds, "But maybe we keep it between us anyway."

"Sure," Quinn accepts, "a shower would be really helpful." She knows she could technically shower on campus. They may have gotten rid of the showers in the normal PE locker rooms (budget cuts), but the Cheerio's had really nice ones in theirs. Only, she wasn't a Cheerio anymore.

Ms. Pillsbury grabs the stash bag and her purse and they head out the side door. While Ms. Pillsbury lines her car in plastic bags, especially the passenger seat, Quinn goes to her car and gets today's spare outfit. The ride to her apartment is silent and when they get there Ms. Pillsbury directs her to the bathroom with lots of instructions and tells her to get it all off as quickly as she can so they can return her to school.

She wants to get back to school, after all she has a class rank to protect, so she hurries and is out of the shower in only about ten minutes. She emerges changed into her other clothes, her mascara and lip gloss reapplied, and with wet hair.

Ms. Pillsbury is sitting at her dinning table, which happens to be in her living room/kitchen/entryway. She stands up when she enters and pours a mug of hot tea and hands it to Quinn before sitting back down and gesturing for Quinn to join her. She does so as Ms. Pillsbury questions, "So what were you doing in that part of school today?"

"I was coming to see you," Quinn answers. Ms. Pillsbury raises an eyebrow as if she's surprised (though she's pretty sure it was obvious), and she continues to explain, "I have some things I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay," Ms. Pillsbury says, "do you want to dry your hair first though? I wouldn't want you to catch a cold with it wet like that."

"It's fine," she waves off, "I can just braid it or something."

"You want it braided?" Ms. Pillsbury questions, her eyes lighting up excitedly, "I used to braid my cousin's hair all the time. I haven't gotten to do it in years. She got her hair cut like Katie Holmes. I could braid your hair for you if you want?"

She seems so excited, it's like a little kid at Christmas, she just can't say no. "Sure," she agrees. This makes her a little bit uneasy. She thinks it's a bit of a weird situation, but then again isn't she just doing something nice for someone who wants to do something nice for her? She's not sure. She's really not used to relationships like this; normal and without some hidden objective.

Ms. Pillsbury gets up and heads to the few feet to her couch and as she sits down on it primly she pats the space in front of her for Quinn. Quinn gets up and does as she was prompted to. Ms. Pillsbury quickly rises again realizing she forgot a brush and a hair tie (and her latex gloves to wear why she braids), but returns and gets to work on a French braid. As soon as she starts she asks, "So what were you coming to talk to me about?"

She wanted to go through with this. Today, she's pregnant and she needs to at least attempt to take some control again. She takes a deep breath and begins, "I found out that I'm first in my class and I need to know more about my options."

"Well," Ms. Pillsbury begins with the academics, knowing there are multiple things to be addressed, "since you're first and likely to remain at the top of your class you'll have lots of schools open to you. You should also know that your PSAT scores were so high you just received a National Merit Scholarship condemnation, I got the letter notifying the school this morning. That means that you don't qualify for their scholarship- which is okay, they don't always give away very much and it's ridiculously competitive- but it will be looked upon by the schools you apply to as quite an honor and could help you get other scholarships. Plus, you get to pick to schools to have the organization notify that you're interested in them and that they think highly of you. Some schools have scholarship money available to the students who get this type of honor and are interested in matriculating to them. I can help you find those schools and figure out which, if any, you're most interested in."

She pauses, both in her explanation of the academics and braiding her hair. She says gently, "What direction you want to head with all this though is dependent on your decision about your baby. I don't want to pressure you or rush you, but have you thought about what you want to do?"

Trying to decide what she wanted to do about the baby was one of the biggest reasons she was coming to Ms. Pillsbury. She needed help and more resources to try and figure out what felt right. But she was aware the only way she could get real help is if she tells the truth. She can't get honest advice is she doesn't tell someone the honest situation. This is part of the reason she chose Ms. Pillsbury to talk to. Guidance counselors are supposed to keep things confidential, right? Just to make sure before she proceeds and spills her secret, Quinn questions, "You can't tell anyone anything I tell you, right?"

Technically she's supposed to report anything that would harm another student and technically she has an obligation to tell parents when something serious is going on with their children (if the student is under the age of eighteen). But she's never gone to the Fabray's and she has no plans to. Quinn's in glee and she seems like a good girl and a pregnancy isn't something someone can hide forever, she knows it'd be news best heard coming from their daughter and not some stranger at her school. Plus, the girl in front of her is sixteen and pregnant, probably terrified, and in great need of someone to talk to. That kind of makes technical rules fly out the window. Her major priority has always been to put the student first. So, that's exactly what she does. "Of course," she promises.

She knows before she says it that it sounds offensive, but this is a big secret and she has to be sure. She questions, "You won't even tell Mr. Schue?" She glances back at Ms. Pillsbury, who seems stunned by the question, "I know he told you about me when he found out from Finn." She adds so it doesn't sound so much like she's insinuating something (not that she thinks she'd be on the wrong path), "You guys are friends, but you wouldn't say anything, right?"

"No. No," she says looking down and fiddling with the hair tie as she shakes her head, "of course not. Anything you tell me is just between us." She knows she's been obvious for a long time now; it should really surprise her less when she finds out someone has caught on.

She takes a deep breath and forces the words out, "Finn's not the father." She hears a gasp from behind her, but refuses to turn around. It's easier if she pretends she's alone and that she's just saying the words out loud to nothingness. She explains, "He had an accident while we were in my hot tub and he thinks that's how he got me pregnant because I told him that my doctor said that's how it happened. But I cheated on him. Lost my virginity to someone else right before then. It was just that one time and now…I don't know what to do."

"Oh my," Ms. Pillsbury whispers. She sighs and asks quietly, "Would you like to tell me who the father really is?"

"Puck," she confesses quietly. When there isn't an immediate response from the guidance counselor she elaborates, "You know, Finn's best friend Noa-"

"I know who he is," Ms. Pillsbury breaks in and assures. "Well," she begins, "I know it's pretty much universal knowledge by now, I'm marrying a man I don't love because the one I do is married, so you'll get no judgment from me."

She glances back a little and smiles appreciatively as much as she can muster.

"Do you want to talk about why you, uh, slept with Mr. Puckerman?" Ms. Pillsbury offers uncomfortably.

"No," she quickly denies, she'd really rather not remember any of that. She launches into why the truth further complicates her situation with a sense of resolve, if she's going to get the help she needs then she needs to get through this. She tells Ms. Pillsbury about how she could probably get through the entire pregnancy without Finn finding out the truth and she needs people to think it's Finn otherwise she'll be more alone than she is now (and she's awfully alone now). She'll lose her parents no matter what and Finn and the kindness of the glee kids is all she has to cling to. But if they find out Puck is the father all that is over and she'll be left alone. And she can't keep a baby that isn't Finn's because then she'd be trapping him and he doesn't deserve that. So if she wants support during the pregnancy, then all this has to end with her giving up her baby. She knows that's probably the smartest decision for the baby too.

"Sounds like a decision has been made then," Ms. Pillsbury concludes, "What's the problem?"

"First," Quinn begins listing of because the listing part is easier, "I could probably never provide as much money, but I could probably make it on my own. And I could probably still got to college. I've accomplished everything else I've ever set out to so isn't it reasonable that I could be a successful single parent even if it completely changes any kind of future I saw for myself?"

"Of course," Ms. Pillsbury agrees as she finishes up the braid and puts on the hair tie meticulously, "I'm sure you could accomplish anything you want."

That's the hard part. She doesn't know what she really wants. She wants a lot of things and many of them seem to conflict. "Second," she says getting back to her point, "if I can technically make it on my own, probably, then it feels like the only reason to give her up is to keep up the lie and keep the few people who are nice to me. And isn't that a stupid reason to give up a baby? Just to cling to some small bit of high school status?"

"It doesn't sound like clinging to status," Ms. Pillsbury reasons, "it sounds like you're just trying to find any way not to go through this alone. No matter who finds out what, I'm still here for you though. And what about Puck? If the truth came out, would he stand by you?"

"Yes," she says with confidence. It doesn't matter how many times she's seen him act like an ass, she remembers that day she got pregnant, she remembers the day he found out and how he was almost fighting for her (if she had let him).

"Then that's at least two people you'll have no matter what," Ms. Pillsbury points out optimistically.

She sighs because this isn't new information. She knew not everyone would disappear completely. But everyone else would probably become unbearable. She could always change schools, her parents would probably want it that way. But, worrying isn't what she needs now. If she's going to figure out what she wants, she needs answers. She begins, "I already love her. I know it's probably better for her if I give her up, but I don't know if I can do that. I've been trying to make myself stronger, haven't let myself cry because of a single slushie, but…". She pauses. She hopes she doesn't have to say it again. If she has to admit to wanting her too many times and then still eventually give her up, that may break her a lot more than everyone in school hating her. She musters her strength and continues, "I need to know more. I need to know what it would be like to give her up. I need to know how many kids look for their parents when they find out they've been adopted. I need to know how many are upset by it, hurt by it. I need to know what kind of schools offer family student housing. I need to know what kind of scholarships could be available to me. I need to know if I could possibly graduate early, just in case I can't stay at school much longer. I need to know if there are any jobs I could get- and grants or federal assistance too. I need to know about possibly getting myself emancipated. I need to know about daycares. And I need to know what it will feel like if I do give her away."

"Okay, okay," Ms. Pillsbury mutters. After the second item Quinn listed she grabbed the nearest notepad, on her coffee table, and tried to catch up. She's still writing and recalling. She asks as she writes it down, "You really think you could need to get emancipated? Your parents will be that angry?"

She turns back to the guidance counselor and confirms, "They'll be that disappointed, and they don't deal with disappointment at all. If I give her away then I'll still need to find anyone other than them to pay for college because I'd probably only be regarded as a guest in their home at best. If I don't give her up, it's definitely going to be the end of my relationship with them."

Just finishing the last letters of the last point on the list, Ms. Pillsbury sighs, "Oh dear."

She shrugs and amends, "It's okay. I've known that I'm just in their lives so they fit the roles they want to play since I was six and my mom taught me how to have a convincing fake smile."

That last item, that concerns Ms. Pillsbury a great deal. She looks over the list and offers, "I can find most of this out for you. It'll take a little research, a little time, but I can definitely find out these things. The last one though…I guess I can try to find someone who has given up a baby and may be willing to talk to you about it. That one would take longer to do probably, but is that something you'd want to do?"

It sounds like it could help so she responds, "Sure."

"In the mean time," Ms. Pillsbury begins thoughtfully and suddenly gets up to browse her bookcase of DVD's, "ah." She grabs a few things from the shelves and comes back to the couch. She starts going through the DVD's and handing them off to Quinn as she explains, "These all have stories about teenagers giving up or keeping their babies. They may not really help, but maybe it will and give you other things to consider while I try to find someone for you to talk to and get answers for the other questions. There's this Lifetime movie, _Mom at Sixteen_, it may not help much- the girl seemed to have issues. Then there's_ Juno_. Oh, and I'm a big _Cold Case_ fan- I like how everything is almost always neatly wrapped up by the end of the episode- and they once had a story about a pregnant teen in this season here, season four. And if these prove even slightly helpful just let me know and I can try to find more things like them."

She has a feeling fiction probably won't help her that much, but really who knows at this point. She came to Ms. Pillsbury for help and this is one of her ideas, it could be helpful. She says, "Thank you."

Ms. Pillsbury waves it off as if to say she's just doing her job. But they both know she's going above and beyond the job for her. They notice the time and Quinn gathers her things quickly so they can hurry back to school. She thanks Ms. Pillsbury again as she gets out of her car when they get back to school and Ms. Pillsbury makes her promise to start coming in after school, twice a week to talk and to hear what she's found out about the things she asked her to research.

When they part ways, Ms. Pillsbury smiles brightly at her as she wishes her to have a good rest of the day. It feels nice. She told someone the truth and she's not being judged by her at all. Although, she's pretty sure it has a lot to do with the person she chose to tell and the fact that she's done things she doesn't want judged either. Either way, it feels a little like progress. All her questions and concerns are out there and someone is helping her find the answers she needs so she can make some real decisions. The decisions still probably won't be easy to make, but maybe, hopefully she'll at least feel more secure in them.

-o-o-o-

Later that night, since the baby is still definitely there, she decides she may as well dive in to the DVDs Ms. Pillsbury gave her, see if they help her find any clarity.

She starts with the Lifetime movie, _Mom at Sixteen_, it's the old one with Kristen Dunst. She makes it about halfway through, watching on her computer with the sound turned down as low as possible, straining to hear it every second, before she realizes Ms. Pillsbury had a point. Kristen Dunst's character isn't really concentrated on that much and when she is it just becomes clear that she has some major issues. So, she turns it off and watches _Juno_. Her parents thought _Juno_ was inappropriate and told her she couldn't watch it. She's watched movies they've deemed this way before, but this didn't really seem good enough to sneak.

As she watches _Juno_, she doesn't exactly find herself relating to the character, but doesn't exactly find herself not relating to her either. She's not already an outsider, her parents wouldn't just deal with it and be okay, and she hasn't easily and simply made the decision to give her baby up. Then again she thinks she'll feel like a planet, one everyone will stare at, she knows that her mistake will show underneath her sweater for everyone to gawk at soon enough. It's the end that seals that she really can't relate to Juno. It's the part where Juno narrates the baby never felt like hers. She doesn't understand that at all. It may be the world's worst timing and she may have enough regrets to last her a lifetime, but the baby growing in her is _hers_, and being too young or terrified doesn't change that.

(Then there's the other scene at the end, the one where Juno mentions how her and Paulie did things backwards- created offspring and then fell in love. She wonders if she has that in common with the fictional character that she hasn't really related to at all through the rest of the movie. Because, like yesterday in the cafeteria at lunch, sometimes Puck will look at her and it says something- she's not positive what exactly, but it's something. And she wonders if the something could be something real, something great.

But really, she forces her mind away from these reoccurring thoughts. She's pregnant and the status and future of her romantic relationships just can't be what she worries about now.)

She moves on to the _Cold Case_ episode Ms. Pillsbury recommended, "The Goodbye Room." She finds herself crying only minutes into it. How is it that she relates more to the pregnant girl in the sixties than the present one of the same Mid-West she currently lives in? She knows the answer is her parents. They're just like the parents in the episode and if places like the home for girls in her condition still exist they'd probably try to talk her into going to one. But it's not only having parents that would be ashamed of a pregnant teenaged daughter that she had in common with this character. This girl seemed to be on the same path she was on. She was good and she had college and a future ahead of her (one her mother didn't have because she got pregnant with her). And, most importantly, despite how the baby completely turned her world upside down, she loved her. Just like the girl in the show though, love was really the only thing she could offer, whereas adoptive parents could offer more.

She gets out a piece of paper as soon as her eyes aren't blurry with tears after the episode ends and copies the pro con like list the pregnant girl was forced to write in it. One column is for the things adoptive parents could offer (specifically the ones she already sort of promised her baby to). She's been over it enough times in her head that she fills it out easily. They could offer financial support, a real home, two parents who are together and love each other, a completely normal childhood, and love. Then she writes down the things she could offer. She puts love at the top of the list because that's one thing she definitely, absolutely has. She already loves her and she's only known about her for seven weeks and after months pass and she finally has her baby she knows she'll love her even more (and that's why she's really been having so much trouble with the idea of giving her up). She puts down a home with an asterisk next to it because her parents will probably kick her out and to have a home she'll need to get emancipated, get a job, and possibly other assistance- so it's not a definite. She puts down money with the same asterisk because it's riding on the same conditions. She puts down a family with an asterisk because she really doesn't know what's going to happen with all that (and it's easier not to think about it after the mess she's already created in that area).

She can't come up with anything else. She puts the list away still feeling as lost as ever. She knows better than to keep it in her room and everyone at school already knows she's pregnant so she puts it in her binder, it's less of risk. Maybe, some other things will come to add to the list in time.

She looks at the clock and realizes it's after midnight. It looks like she's in for another day where she doesn't get to deny. She's getting more used to this. To simply being pregnant. And she might as well, she's going to be like this for many months to come.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed chapter two!**

**Next chapter will feature Kurt and Mike and Matt. **

**Thank you for reading and remember to PLEASE REVIEW! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you again to all of you wonderful reviewers! **

I think this fic may actually be finished on Wednesday. It depends on how fast I can write and how much time my cold allows me to write, but the next chapter should definitely be up tomorrow with the last one possibly added Wednesday (otherwise known as my Veterans Day, my mom's birthday, and the wonderful day that Glee returns to our airwaves).

Something to keep in mind this chapter is that concept I mentioned at the start of the story: one step forward, two steps back. Progress is difficult, especially in an already troubling situation.

* * *

**Redemption

* * *

**

The end of the week has finally come. It's Friday, game day.

She's not going to the game, she's already resolved to that decision.

Yesterday at glee practice she was glad to see that Santana and Brittney still talked to her. They told her that a new captain hasn't been picked yet. She speculated, knowing Coach Sylvester pretty well now, that she was probably stalling to keep them in a suspended state of terror. But a new girl would have to be picked by tonight and she really couldn't handle being in the stands watching them.

When she said that out loud to the Cheerio girls, Arty heard and offered that maybe some of them from glee should try and get together and do something. Naturally Finn and Puck and Matt and Mike and Kurt were needed at the game like Santana and Brittney, but Tina chimed in first that she'd be up for doing something. Kurt then seconded until the guys reminded him about the game. Mercedes said she had a family thing, her dad's birthday. Rachel didn't say anything at all, seemingly not hearing the exchange. Arty and Tina tried to persuade her to agree and she says maybe, she'll see.

This morning as he began escorting her to class, Arty tried again to get a definite yes out of her. He promised that he and Tina always had a really great time together so she'd definitely have fun hanging out with them. She's ready to agree because, what the hell, she might as well try something new, when Finn shows up.

Finn hasn't been around much and he pulls her aside and apologizes for that. He tells her he's going to be a better boyfriend from now on and he's walking her to all her classes from now on.

He's friendly though and he kind of dominates the conversation with Arty- which gives her the opportunity to notice the stares and whispers walking with Arty had previously erased.

Then as the day goes on she notices how walking with her causes him to get the cold shoulder from everyone else all day. He's a nice guy who's always had a lot of friends and even though he's trying, she can see it affecting him. By lunch she can't take it anymore. She tells him that it's okay, she can take care of herself, he doesn't need to walk her. Plus, he was really great when she was moody a few weeks ago (she had been testing him, seeing if he'd snap and tell someone how he thought he got her pregnant, he'd get corrected and her whole plan would fall apart before it really got started) so just because he's been a little absent lately (it's actually been a lot absent) doesn't mean he's a bad boyfriend. It works and he's persuaded to let her get to her other classes on her own.

She gets a slushie to the face right after lunch as she heads to sixth period alone. She picks up the stash from Ms. Pillsbury's office and cleans up alone. She finds Arty after sixth period and tells him that she's definitely coming tonight because if there's any chance that she's not always going to be alone, then she has to put herself out there.

-o-o-o-

**Kurt**

After the game Friday night, Kurt ends up meeting up with her and Tina and Arty at the bowling alley. She's not exactly sure how they ended up there. There was some mention of wouldn't it be fun to ride down the lanes in Arty's chair and then they were there. When no one seemed to be paying attention, Arty tries it. Sends himself rolling speedily down a lane. He offers both girls a ride after returning and saying it was so fun. Tina eagerly agrees. Then she's persuaded to try it next. Once she's on his lap, Arty tells her just before he starts rolling, "This is how I get all the girls in my lap." She's laughing so hard the entire way down the lane after that, it all goes by in a blur.

Then they got yelled at by the manager. She's never almost gotten thrown out of somewhere before. It was a lot more fun than she expected.

They get to stay though by promising to be good. None of them, however, really want to bowl so they grab some food and settle in at a table under the pretense that they'll decide what they want to do next while they're eating.

This is when Kurt shows up. He says they won and she hopes her face doesn't look as revealing as it feels when he says that Puck won them the game. Thankfully, Kurt notices the karaoke machine right as he's finishing telling that bit of information and makes quite a scene. There's squealing and jumping and then pleading. Then there's foot stomping and a storm off much like Rachel's before he declares that he will just do the first song himself.

He goes up on stage, browses through the catalogue of songs, and when they see his eyes light up they know he's found his first selection. Only minutes later Kurt is giving an enthusiastic rendition of "Oops I Did It Again," complete with Britney-esque dance moves.

When he's done he declares that Arty will sing next. Arty, doesn't fight it. The stage has a ramp so why not go up and have fun? He chooses "Ballroom Blitz" and calls Tina up for help with the chorus about halfway through the song. She races on stage and sings with him, dancing around, both of them comically acting it out.

Tina jokes that the stage is hers now and "kicks" Arty off as she sings "Piece of My Heart"- not quite like Janis but it's good anyway.

They try to persuade her to go next, but despite the fact that they're practically the only ones in the entire bowling alley (it's past ten in Lima), she's not that comfortable making that kind of display so she resists for now. Kurt takes this opportunity to perform one of his other favorite female artists: Madonna. Unfortunately, their catalogue doesn't leave him with many Madonna options and he ends up settling for "Hung Up."

She's so entertained by Kurt's rendition that she doesn't notice Arty's whispers to Tina. But instead of Arty taking the stage again, as she thought would happen, Tina gets up there and picks out a song and then claims that she needs another female voice to do it. Kurt and Tina practically drag her out of her chair, but she gives into their encouragement and takes the other mic. She's never heard "Heartbeat" by Annie, but it's a lot more upbeat and fun than she expected Tina to pick. By the end of the song she's singing along without a care and dancing around the tiny stage with Tina.

Once it's over, she hurries back to her seat before they can try to persuade her to stay. Luckily Arty's eager to get back up there because he realized they have Eric Clapton- apparently he's a big fan. So he performs a very good rendition of "Strange Brew" before things turn a bit ridiculous again when Kurt and Tina (and they plead her again but she resists) join Arty to playfully sing, "I Want To Know What Love Is." By the end of which none of them can keep a straight enough face to sing.

Kurt then refuses to leave the stage until Quinn picks a song to sing on her own. She tries to claim that she doesn't know any of the songs, but Kurt then simply compromises that he'll pick one for her. She doesn't know why, probably the popularity thing she's been living her whole life where people always attack if given the chance (not to mention how her mother's done it to her forever too), but she expects the song to be some kind of very thinly veiled insult like Madonna's "Like A Virgin" or something to remind her of her situation and make her cry- like too many of the songs that could be on that list. But, and she really should have known the glee kids better by now, they don't. Instead Kurt picks, "Lovefool" (some of the accuracy of which he couldn't possibly have known).

She gives in to their now chanted encouragement and gets on stage. She's smiling through the whole song, genuinely enjoying herself. They all join in from the audience for the chorus and as the song finishes she realizes she can't remember the last time she had this much fun.

She sits back down with them still laughing. Kurt's been getting texts from Mercedes and she finally sends one saying to stop waiting for her, it's been four hours and they're still not doing cake and presents for her dad yet so she's not making it. Rachel also texts her three companions on the hour every hour reminding them that they should rehearse the songs for sectionals frequently. Arty informs her that she's lucky she's not on Rachel's text reminders list- they come constantly and sometimes with very harsh critiques on their past performances. She doesn't ask anything about it, but she can't help but wondering why Rachel seems be avoiding her- she certainly never had a problem being annoyingly present before.

She gets one text all night. It's from Finn, as usual he's tired after the game, but he's going to try and at least grab something to eat with the guys before he goes home to crash. He doesn't say where he's going so it's certainly not an invitation. Kurt questions who her text is from that she's reading and then asks what Finn says. She tries to play it off like it's okay, like he always has "guy time" on Fridays, but she can see it in their faces- sympathy. He's not thinking of her at all and they know it. Instead of dwelling on it though, they try and distract her by Kurt singing "Take My Breath Away"- later joined by everyone from the audience.

Its when they do nice things like this for her and mention making plans to do something next Friday as well as they finally part ways in the parking lot that she feels less alone than she has in a really long time now. But at the same time the guilt she's been carrying with her since that day with Puck practically consumes her. Because she knows she's building these new friendships on lies. And the worst part is that they're really nice people and if she told them the truth she thinks they may come to understand and it seems really unlikely that they'd abandon her if she was honest.

Despite her exercises in strength (not crying when she gets slushied) she's not strong enough for honesty yet. It's a leap of faith, honesty, and she truly doesn't have enough faith to do it at the moment.

Monday morning Arty rolls with her to her classes, Tina coming with them as they part ways heading to their third periods. Then, during brunch, Kurt is quick to find her. He just pops up beside her as she waits at her locker for Finn. He informs her that he had third period with Finn and Finn won't be coming. Winning two games is a record their school hasn't broken in ten years so he's getting interviewed by the local paper. Kurt then declares that she's in for a treat because he'd like to escort her to the choir room to snack on carb and fat loaded goodies (Twinkies) where no one can see them. She's starving and though she wants to watch how much weight she gains at this point in the pregnancy she figures one Twinkie wouldn't hurt.

Kurt loops his arm through hers and practically skips down the hall. She keeps up but refrains from skipping herself. When they get to the choir room it is indeed empty and he sits down on one of the chairs as he pulls a couple of packs of Twinkies out of his bag. As she sits down next to him and accepts the proffered package he comments, "I love your outfit today. Whites and yellows are so your colors."

"Thank you," she returns with a smile. She takes in his outfit intending to return the compliment but really notices what he's wearing instead. She asks, "I thought you guys weren't going to wear raincoats anymore?"

He waves her off as he responds after swallowing his second bite of Twinkie, "Honey this doesn't have anything to do with slushies. It's supposed to rain later today." He adds confidently, "Plus, I look fabulous in this coat."

"Of course you do, it's a really fantastic coat," she compliments.

They gossip for a few minutes. She noticed that Tina got in Arty's mom's van when she came to pick him up Friday night and she's always noticed that they're friends so she got the skinny on them. Kurt tells her they've been best friends since pre-school- families are long time friends. But they are not nor have they ever been romantically involved with each other. He thinks there's a little something there, but not anything they're ready for.

By the time they get through their second Twinkies (and another gossip topic- Betsy Rice's mono that was promptly followed by a sudden increase in her breast size) the bell signaling the end of brunch is about to ring so they clean up their messes and head out. As they're heading out the choir room door they nearly run into Mr. Schue who is trying to enter.

He seems surprised to see the two of them together, but doesn't comment on it. Instead he greets brightly, "Hey guys. How's your day going?"

"Bloated after those Twinkies," Kurt answers regrettably. Carbs and fat always get him in trouble.

Mr. Schue's forehead crinkles in confusion, but rather than ask (it's Kurt, it's probably safer not to know) he tells them, "Okay. Well, did you guys see a watch in there? I lost mine somewhere. Can't seem to remember where I took it off."

"No," they both answer shaking their heads. Kurt adds, "But we didn't really pay attention or look around much."

"Alright," he says with a sigh, "thanks." The bell rings and he peps back up and suggests, "I'll walk with you guys. You're heading to my class, right Quinn?" Realizing what he's said he adds hastily, "Unless you guys don't want to be seen with me. Which is you know, teacher, so okay." He rambles through a little incoherently. He was usually a bit smother, but this watch thing was really throwing him. He looked everywhere- multiple times.

"It's cool Mr. Schue," Kurt assures.

She doesn't really have a reputation to protect anymore so Quinn gives in and nods as she adds, "Yeah. We're going to the same place anyway."

He smiles at them. This group of glee kids is special.

But the moment is interrupted by a kid coming from the direction Mr. Schue had his back to and throwing a slushie towards Quinn, and effectively Kurt too since he was standing so close to her.

"Hey," Mr. Schue yells to the kid as soon as it happens. The kid turns, sees that the guy they were talking to was a teacher, and hauls ass down the hallway. Mr. Schue doesn't hesitate to run after him.

Kurt licks the corner of his mouth and comments trying to lighten the mood, "Mmm, cherry."

Quinn almost musters a smile, but apparently this week is going to consist of slushies too. Up until now she had held up hope that people would have forgotten about hating her.

"Come on," Kurt says pulling on her arm, "let's go clean up. Lucky for you I happen to have my facial kit in my bag."

She follows and within minutes she has the slushie off her face (she's had a lot of practice at getting the sticky, frozen drink off of her) and Kurt preparing to apply the first step in his facial kit.

She see's his clothing, untouched by the slushie and comments, "I guess I should be wearing a raincoat after all."

"Nah," he denies, "this was just weather inspired luck."

"You wouldn't need luck if you weren't standing next to me," she says softly.

"But I would have been eating alone like I usually do," he confesses.

There's a knock on the door followed by Mr. Schue's voice asking, "Quinn, Kurt, are you guys in there?"

"Yes. And we're decent. You can come in," Kurt answers.

Mr. Schue pokes his head through the door and announces, "I caught the guy. It was Neil Wasserman. He's in with Principal Figgins now, probably getting suspended."

"Thank you," Quinn says sincerely.

He nods and promises, "Anytime. Really Quinn you don't deserve people doing this to you and if you know any of the names of the people who have, just let me know. Emma told me that you missed my class the other day because of the slushies and I just stopped in and talked to her. She's going to go around to all your teachers to tell them why you may be momentarily absent if you're cleaning up and that they should just excuse your absences and help you catch up. She's also going to send out a memo for all the teachers to be in the halls as often as possible so we can catch the guys doing this in the act."

"That's really," she stumbles, gathers herself and says gratefully, "thank you for helping me."

"Always," he swears with a kind smile. He offers, "Is there anything else I can do or are you guys okay here?"

She's about to say that they'll be fine, but Kurt breaks in reminding, "Your shirt."

She looks at it, having grown accustomed to the feeling of slushie drenched clothing on her body, and remembers, "I need to get my clothes. They're in my car."

"You have your keys?" Mr. Schue asks and offers, "I can have someone get them and bring them to you."

She gets out her keys and thanks him again as she hands them over. He tells her that as soon as she's cleaned up, come to class and he'll help her catch up on what she's missed- which probably won't be that much since he's probably going to return to a riot, the sole hall monitor watching the kids right now.

As soon as the door shuts behind Mr. Schue, Kurt says, "I bet you twenty dollars Ms. Pillsbury is the person he gets to bring your stuff. Or, excuse me, _Emma_."

She rolls her eyes, "It's not a bet when you know it's going to happen."

"Yeah," he agrees. He adds thoughtfully, "And we probably shouldn't be joking about it anyway. Such a sad position for both of them to be in."

"Yeah," she concurs distractedly. She's heard of worse situations: hers.

Kurt applies his white facial cream to himself first as Quinn wipes off the slushie from her arm and chest and changes into a new shirt (Ms. Pillsbury was indeed the one to deliver her clothes). As he's dabbing on the goop, Kurt asks, "Q, and I'm calling you Q now by the way, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she responds easily, figuring he has a question about her skin care or something.

"Everyone knows all your secrets now. Word is well spread about the baby. Why do you still always look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?" He asks despite the fact that he knows he could lose his new friend by doing so.

She refuses to glance away as she wants to because she knows it's like an admission. Instead she tries to change the topic, "I don't understand why you and Arty and Tina and even Mercedes are being so nice to me lately."

Kurt may not be much of a sportsman, but he can recognize bait when he sees it. He likes to think he's very crafty though so he goes along with it planning to turn it back around on her. "I don't know about everyone else, though I suspect their reasons are similar, but I know that people always have reasons that you couldn't begin to guess for doing the things they do." He finishes putting on her facial mask, puts the lid on the container, and washes his hands. As he's drying them he turns to face her again and explains, "My mom died when I was ten. It was a heart attack. Heart disease runs in our family. And for a little over a year after she died I would gorge myself of the fattiest of foods. I gained tons of weight. And everyone thought I was just eating through my grief, but that wasn't it. I thought that if I ate enough I'd end up in the same place she is. I'd be with her again. And it took two years of therapy my dad forced me into to realize that she'd want me here living and trying to enjoy my life- not dieting either exactly but enjoying the same fatty foods she did in moderation like she did." He wipes away a few stray tears and concludes, "So, yeah, I understand that everyone has their reasons for acting the way they do, doing the things they do, being the person they are."

"I'm so sorry," she says, tears prickling in her eyes.

"It's okay," he says with a shrug, "it's actually easier to accept that people are the way they are because life has made them that way. Less grudges, less anger. Like, Puck tormented me for a long time. But about…three and a half months ago he stopped. He still says some mean, yet creative things to me sometimes. Knowing that he probably used to harass me because of something in his life makes it a lot easier to accept that he's nice now because he must have gotten over it. So I can just accept him as a fellow glee-cluber and move on." He ends with a soft smile.

Three and a half months ago? There was something else that happened three and a half months ago besides Puck not beating up Kurt anymore and it had to do with Puck too. And it just confused her more. So is she supposed to get that she meant something to him? That her sleeping with him suddenly made him a better person? But after how she treated him after they…it just didn't make sense. And now he doesn't even look at her in the halls. She knows she was horrible to him when he confronted her about the baby, but she just found out she's having a baby and she couldn't seem to help it. If she really meant something to him then why does he keep accepting it when she tries to drive him away? She was giving herself a headache again.

"That," Kurt says breaking her daze, "that look you have right now. You get that a lot. What is that about?"

"I," she begins, but she shakes her head because she doesn't know what to say. After what Kurt just told her, she feels obligated to tell him the truth. But her situation is so messy, she can't just tell him because she feels like she owes him. She says, "I can't tell you. I want to and I really hope that you'll still believe that people do the things they do for a good reason and that you'll be able to keep that in mind and still want to actually talk to me. But this…who I tell first is important."

He nods in understanding and assures, "Whenever you can tell me what's going on, I'm sure I'll still want to talk to you. You have your reasons for whatever your secret is right?"

"Yeah," she answers and confesses, confusion riddling her mind, "but they're not good ones."

"Eh," he brushes off, "reasons are reasons. It'll be good enough for me to understand where're your coming from and anyone else too. And we'll hang out way more than we have now." He adds to break the tension, "I've got to get you to dance in one of my videos before you get fat and then I have to keep being your friend so you'll do them when you get skinny again too."

"What videos?" she questions having no idea what he means and getting a little worried. She thought he was alright, but filming her dancing sounds ominous.

He laughs and explains it to her as he tells her it's time to remove the facial masks. After they're done cleaning off all the goop, she tells him about how she's got to get to class because she needs to keep her place at the top of her class. He supposes he should actually go to class too. They part ways in the hallway, him promising that he will text her about getting a manny-petty after school.

-o-o-o-

She has a really good time with Kurt. He makes her laugh, but just like that moment in the bathroom he seems to have this knack for telling her something she needs to hear without even realizing it.

He's probably going to be her friend when the truth comes out and that means she has two people now (remembering the way Puck doesn't look at her, she decides she probably can't count him anymore).

But that positive surprise is quickly forgotten. Mr. Schue had told Finn about the slushie incident and suggested that he should try and protect her from it more. He promised that he would and apologized that he hadn't.

And he's so, so good that it makes the guilt consume her to the point that she feels like she can't breathe.

She's been hesitating telling him the truth because she'll be alone if she does. She'll lose the few people she has now. But she hasn't just been hesitating because she's been thinking of herself. She's been thinking of him too. When she tells him the truth he has to get humiliated. He has to lose her and she knows he doesn't love her, but he does care about her. And when she tells him she has to take his best friend away from him too. She's done a lot of bitchy things, but never anything like this and she just can't seem to make herself do it (yet). Telling him the truth would mean ripping apart his world and she knows she has to do it because he deserves her to be honest, but she just doesn't have the courage (yet). It doesn't seem to matter that the guilt is tearing her apart (or making her look like she's carrying the weight of the world, as Kurt said), she just can't force the words out (yet).

She takes out the piece of paper she hid in her binder and realizes that another day has passed and she still can't find anything to add to the list. She starts to think that maybe she really doesn't have anything else she can add to the list, nothing else she can offer her daughter. And if that's true then the answer about what she should do is clear. She should give her baby away.

She cries herself to sleep that night. (How could doing what's right hurt this much?)

-o-o-o-

**Mike and Matt**

She gets to school on Tuesday hoping that her eyes aren't as red rimmed as she thinks they are. Crying yourself to sleep has effects.

She has Arty in the mornings as usual and Tina joins them again as does Mercedes. It's a nice group and it she's glad for everyday where they're willing to be her friends.

Kurt meets her for brunch, joined by Finn who walks her to their Spanish class. She promises Finn that she'll be fine for the rest of the day and she's kind of surprised when he gives up very easily and hurries across campus to his class.

All is explained though when she turns around from her locker and sees Mike and Matt standing in front of her.

"We're here to escort you to your fifth and, after lunch, sixth period classes," Mike declares.

She starts to ask why, but Matt cuts her off elaborating, "Finn said that you don't get slushied in the morning when you walk with Arty and some of the other people from glee, but his classes are pretty far from yours and he was late to all of them yesterday. Our classes are around yours though so we offered to help out."

"That's very nice of you," she begins, "but I've been doing fine."

"Oh we're not taking no for an answer," Matt informs her, letting her know that it doesn't matter how many times she promises she'll be fine, they're walking her.

"Let's go," she says with a sigh.

Mike does this little excited like jump thing as he moves to her other side as they head toward her class- this way one of them is on each side of her, effectively flanking her.

They come to a stop before they turn a corner and Mike holds out his arm to stop her, his arm brushing against her chest in the process. She raises an eyebrow at him and he apologizes sheepishly, "Sorry." He looks around the corner cautiously before declaring, "It's clear."

"No slushies in sight?" Matt checks.

"Affirmative," Mike says with a smile and they proceed around the corner with both boys looking around, continuing to act like they're on some secret mission.

As nice as this is of them, she can't help feeling like they're going to make her crazy with their theatrics.

This is further confirmed when they actually start talking as they continue their spy maneuvers. "Santana's into me, right?" Matt asks.

She's not given the chance to respond as Mike adds, "And Brittany likes me, right?"

"No she doesn't," Matt quickly denies, "if Santana likes me then Brittany doesn't like you. I told you already, it doesn't work that way. The chances of cheerleaders liking both of us is like impossible and Santana likes me so that means Brittany doesn't like you."

"Unless," Mike suggests somehow catching on to the screwy logic of his friend, "Brittany does like me and Santana doesn't like you."

"But Santana _hugged_ me," Matt rebuttals.

"Brittany _hugged_ me too," Mike returns.

"Yeah but Brittany's a huggy person. Santana _so_ isn't so it means more therefore she likes me," Matt tries to rationalize.

This is where she leaves the conversation with a quick thanks as she arrives at her class, but when they meet her at the end of lunch to walk with her to her sixth period class, it's like they hit pause and waited to talk until they were around her again because they're still having the same conversation.

Or at least they're having the same debate- not giving her time to respond to the questions they direct at her- until Mike says, "But Tina definitely likes me, right?"

"You like Tina?" Matt asks, which is exactly the thought that was running through Quinn's mind.

He shrugs and responds, "She's cool. I know she's kind of goth, but I think she only dresses that way cause she knows it's hot because personality wise she's really nice. And she smiles like all the time. And she's fun. What's not to like?" He adds as his forehead crinkles in thought, "Unless she's with Arty. They seem kind of tight."

"Mikey likes Tina," Matt teases.

"You like Santana," Mike returns just as immaturely.

"Yeah but the difference is she likes me back. Tina's got Arty and I already told you Brittany isn't into you," Matt argues.

"She doesn't like you back because Brittany likes me and if your theory is right about us and cheerleaders then that means Santana definitely doesn't like you," Mike returns.

"But," Matt begins but Quinn really can't take it anymore.

She knows if they're going to walk her again and she has to hear another day of this same conversation she's going to end up snapping and saying something bitchy to them. She's only one turn down a hall and about one hundred feet from her classroom, but she can't let this continue. Quinn breaks in, "Matt, Santana could like you. The hug probably didn't mean anything, but she does like guys without a lot of hair so you're physically her type. But the type of guys she really likes are honest and up front. So if you want to go out with her, tell her and then tell her why. And if you have anything- bad credit score, traffic tickets, juvenile record- tell her immediately before she finds out and she'll definitely find out, her dad's a cop."

She turns to Mike and starts in on him, "And Mike, Brittney is a very affectionate person. She hugs almost everyone. She's not picky though and if you're nice she'd date you. Tina isn't with Arty nor has she ever been. I don't know if she'd like you, but you're not a bad guy so you probably at least have a small chance. But you cannot go after both of them. Decide who you really like and ask that girl out and don't screw around with the other one."

"Awesome," Mike responds with a smile and him and Matt high-five.

She sighs. They clearly understood what she said to them, but somehow it doesn't feel like progress.

The next day as they walk her to her fifth period class though, thankfully they're not talking about any girls. They're gossiping instead and she's stunned to learn that they're worse than girls with gossip.

First they talk about Jerry, the defensive tackle, who's been fighting with his girlfriend. They speculate about the reason why- Matt offering that he thinks she cheated, Mike thinking he heard something about him looking at other girls. Then they move on to Clint, safety, and how he's been really tired at school and practice lately. They think he got a job and Mike thinks the reason is probably because of some kind of financial trouble in this economy, but then agrees with Matt that it'd be way cooler if his job was male stripper and he was doing it to score with tons of chicks.

This is all they get through on the way to fifth period and on the way to her sixth she really wishes they had stuck to Jerry and Clint, but instead they're talking about Puck.

She tries to remain as uninterested as she was in their conversation when it was about the other guys as they talk about Puck.

"I think Puck's going through a dry spell," Matt begins.

"But he's Puck," Mike reminds as if it means something because it does.

"I know," Matt agrees, "and if he can't get any there's like no hope for the rest of us." He seems depressed by this idea but he continues explaining why he thinks Puck's been striking out anyway, "But he hasn't mentioned making it with any girls in forever now. I mean, I've seen him with a lot of different girls, but he hasn't been sharing any victories and he always brags. You haven't heard him say anything either, right?"

"Not since those old ladies," Mike answers thinking back, "but that can't be right, that was like four months ago."

"Yeah that's the last time I remember him saying anything too," Matt agrees shaking his head. "How could girls just not be going for him? He's always been able to get them in the past."

Mike's eyes light up and he does that little jump thing again, apparently a habit of excitement, and suggests, "Maybe he has a girlfriend. Like a secret one though and that's why he's not telling us about scoring with her."

"Puck and a girlfriend, a serious one?" Matt says skeptically.

Mike shrugs, his friend's doubt not getting him down, and offers, "Any guy can fall for a girl. And it explains why he's changed. The right girl can change a guy."

Matt's about to ask how he knows that (she knows this because it's somehow where they are the next day) but they pause around the last corner again and this time one of them doesn't say all clear. Instead, Mike announces, "We've got a slushie."

She's surprised by how scared she gets when she hears that. It completely breaks her from thinking about Puck- which she knows is hard to do because she's spent a lot of time trying not to think about him.

Matt comes next to Mike to peer around the corner. "Accident?" he questions.

"Accident," Mike agrees with a nod.

She has no idea what that means, but then Mike tells her very seriously, "Stay right here. Protect the fetus."

It would have been funny if she wasn't so worried about what they may do.

"On three," Matt says to Mike and Mike nods.

On three they start running down the hall laughing. Matt knocks into the right shoulder of the guy holding the slushie just as Mike knocks into his left. This sends the guy flying on his back to the floor, the slushie spilling all over him.

The guys stop and begin saying they're so sorry. They were just screwing around, they didn't mean to run into him. While they're helping him up, Mike turns and waves to her to come down the hall, giving her a thumbs up that it's all clear.

She gives them a wave in thanks and brings them some cupcakes the next day as she tells them thank you for protecting her. They brush it off saying that they're just doing what Finn asked them to, but accept the cupcakes all the same. They still talk incessantly, and with their mouths full it turns out, but she learns that they do appreciate her joining the conversation, she just has to be assertive about it.

They're still kind of annoying, but it's nice all the same and she's grateful that she has them with her twice a day.

-o-o-o-

She can't help her mind traveling back to what Mike and Matt were gossiping about. She tries really hard not to think about it, about him, but (and she denies to herself that it ever happens) she gives in.

She's not sure of anything anymore. Before, her life wasn't fantastic. She was playing the part her parents wanted her to: Christian, Cheerio, good student, most popular girl. It wasn't bad though. Maybe it left her wondering what else she could be, what else she would be when she finally got away from here, but a lot of girls wanted to be her so she was satisfied with her life (if other people wanted it then shouldn't it be good enough?). The thing that kept her from thinking her life was truly good though was that it didn't really feel like her life. There was no getting around that she was the person her parents wanted her to be and if they hadn't wanted anything from her, maybe she'd be someone else.

Now though, she wishes she could be that person again. Maybe it wasn't really her, but at least she wasn't so lost.

She had never even liked him before. She's pretty sure she didn't at least. But…

She stops herself. Thinking about that day doesn't make now any clearer, just less so.

What she should deal with is the present and in the present he doesn't talk to her. In the present he's dating other girls. In the present he's apparently not sleeping with any of them since her. And it means something, she knows it does. He's a self proclaimed stud who isn't screwing around anymore. She wants to believe that he's stopped for her, because he feels something for her. But he doesn't look at her in the halls and she fears that he stopped because of her, because she's been horrible to him and she's scared him off from girls now.

As much as she feels guilty for the way she's treated Finn, she feels guilty for the way she's treated him too. She knows that neither of them deserve the horrible things she's done to them.

And times like now, when she's alone in her room and has nothing but guilt sitting on her chest, making her ache and pray to God that this isn't her life, that she is not this flawed, she wishes no one was on her side and that she was alone as she predicted. Because after everything she's done, alone is how she deserves to be.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

Let's see, with this chapter we have nine people who have helped Quinn out (eleven if one counts Finn's and Mr. Schue's assistance). That means there are two left and they're both in the next chapter: Rachel and Puck.

I know you now may be wondering, then who's in the last chapter? All I'm willing to say on that matter is that just about every character (if not every character) has a line in the last chapter and it won't be like the ones that proceeded it.

**Thanks for reading and remember that Reviews = Love. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you to the wonderful people who have reviewed! I'm still responding to a couple of you, but I wanted to get this out before it gets any later.

I still have no idea if I'll be able to finish and upload the last chapter tomorrow. As well as being a holiday and the wonderful day Glee returns, it's my mom's birthday an occasion I haven't really been able to celebrate with her in five years so I'll spending tons of time with her. But, I'll try to write as speedily as possible and it will indeed be up by then end of the week if it's not up tomorrow.

* * *

**Redemption

* * *

**

She thanks God for the rain Thursday morning because it means that she can wear her raincoat to school without looking like she thinks she deserves the slushies. (Even though the guilt has pushed her to the point that she's convinced that she does.)

She has people with her all day. Arty, Tina, Mercedes, Kurt, Finn, Mike and Matt. She feels like she deserves them less than ever and it's a lot harder to muster a smile in their presence (a lot harder not to cry at any given moment).

She hasn't written anything on her list of things she could offer her daughter since the night she made it. She knows with each day that passes that she can't find anything it's another huge sign that she should give her baby up. And she's met with Ms. Pillsbury who has found some of the things she asked about and told her about lots of scholarships, provided her with a still growing list of universities with family student housing, and got her a bunch of information for her to read on emancipation. But she still can't add anything to the list.

It feels like a punishment, the fact that she still can't find anything that she could give her daughter. It's like she's done too many people wrong to be allowed to keep her little girl so God has decided to show her over and over again that she should give her up. She wouldn't be a good influence on a little girl, she's made too many mistakes. And not having any to offer her daughter is her punishment for all those mistakes. Give her up and maybe she'll find redemption finally. Or at least that's the message she's been getting from all of this. She's committed too many sins and now she has to pay the price.

(And she's been praying constantly that the price please not be her daughter.)

-o-o-o-

**Rachel**

She heads to glee practice after school not really looking forward to all the friendly faces because of how it makes the guilt rise in her veins.

She gets to the door and pulls it open to find the room empty. She's not early, she's just on time, but it's empty anyway.

"What are you doing here?" comes from behind her.

She turns letting the door to the empty choir room shut.

"Didn't anyone tell you about glee practice being delayed?" Rachel continues before she can respond to the girl's initial question.

"I," she begins.

But Rachel promptly cuts her off continuing, "I specifically told at least four of them to text you."

"I didn't check my phone," she breaks in before Rachel can say more. She pulls it out and finds texts from Arty and Kurt and Finn and Brittany. Reading the messages she asks, "Why is practice delayed an hour and a half?"

"Mr. Schue was called to a meeting with Principal Figgins, something about the budget," Rachel answers.

"See you later then," she says curtly ending her interaction with Rachel and intent on leaving.

Rachel huffs and follows her as she asks, "Where is your escort?"

"What?" she questions confused.

"Your escort. You're supposed to have someone walking with you all day. It took long enough to arrange. Where is your after school person?" Rachel explains rather impatiently as she continues to follow Quinn.

"I've never had an 'afterschool person' and I can take care of myself," Quinn returns as politely as she possibly can- which at the moment means without adding an insult.

"There are still plenty of people around this campus that hate you. School has not been over long enough for walking around on your own to be safe," Rachel argues rationally.

"I'm fine," Quinn says firmly hoping the girl will take the hint and leave.

Rachel huffs again, but gives in, "See you at glee then."

Twenty feet later, when she's out the door to the student parking lot, some douche who was apparently waiting for her gets her with two slushies and proceeds to run off with his friends laughing. She wasn't wearing her raincoat, it was in her arms because the day was over and she didn't suspect that this could happen.

Rachel's next to her in seconds, probably having heard the commotion. She looks like she wants to say, "I told you so," but she doesn't and Quinn's glad because it's really better for Rachel's safety if she doesn't boast right now.

"Ms. Pillsbury is still in her office. I'll get the stash, meet you in the bathroom in the math wing," Rachel orders and leaves before Quinn can argue.

She really doesn't want Rachel helping her, but she doesn't want to get in her car like this (she doesn't keep plastic coverings handy like Ms. Pillsbury) and she could really use the stash bag, which Rachel will have.

She goes to the bathroom and waits for Rachel hoping that the girl will just give her the bag and let her clean up by herself.

Rachel comes in pulling a towel out of the bag and hands it to her. She then starts getting out the shampoo and conditioner and setting them by the sink. Her hair is soaked with the icy substance and she knows she needs to wash it and hopes that that's the only reason Rachel is still there- to set up stuff to leave her on her own. This hope is quickly dashed when she says, "Okay, I'll go get a chair from the choir room, it's easier that way."

"I can do it myself," Quinn vetoes quickly.

"I know," Rachel confirms, "I used to do it myself. But these sinks are difficult and it's literally a real pain in the neck to do it all by yourself." She still sees hesitance so she adds, "I know you don't like me so I've stayed away. But I'm the only one here now. I'll go back to leaving you alone if you let me help you."

She has some questions about what Rachel's said and the way Rachel's been acting- or more accurately not acting- toward her has actually been bugging her for a while. She wants to ask about it and she wants the slushie off of her so she caves. She gets her keys out of her bag and says, "I need my change of clothes too. They're in the red canvas bag in my back seat."

Rachel beams briefly and rushes off to get the bag and the chair. She returns quickly and sits the chair with it's back against the sink, like she had done for Puck, and washes proceeds to wash out Quinn's hair the same way.

"I've never liked you," Quinn begins, "why are you staying away because of that now? It's never stopped you before."

"I felt bad," Rachel confesses, "My last offer of friendship had ulterior motives and I believed what I said to you too. Glee club is all you have and we should be there for you. But as much as I believed that I wasn't honest in my offer of friendship and even if I am now, when everything else is horrible for you, you shouldn't have to be around someone who treated you like that, and one that you don't like."

Crap. She kind of feels bad and she's not entirely sure why. Maybe because Rachel realized she made a mistake and proceeded to try and fix it in a way that made sense whereas she's just seemed to screw things up more when trying to fix her mistakes. She sighs and offers, "I didn't blame you for being nice to me only to get to Finn. I would have done the same thing in your position."

"That doesn't make it right," Rachel knows.

"No, it doesn't," Quinn agrees.

The silence stretches on after that. When it's felt like ten minutes and Rachel has yet to move on to shampoo yet (it's actually been seven minutes), Quinn remembers how Rachel's always seemed like a perfectionist and it seems like that quality is coming out now with her hair.

She knows some things about Rachel's life- her mother always told her to know her enemies- and as much as she doesn't like talking about the fact that she's pregnant (especially with Rachel Berry) the silence is getting to her and she asks, "Do you ever think you'll try to find your mom?"

The insults she's gotten have been specific enough that she knows Quinn knows about her family- after all she does tell everyone about it proudly. But she is a bit taken off guard by the question. An actress has to be able to think on her toes though so she answers quickly, "No." She see's this look just briefly cross Quinn's features (the girl's good at masking) and realizes what her question could really be about. On a hunch she adds, "But my situation was different. My mom sold her eggs for money so other people could have children. She has no attachment to me nor me to her."

"What about the surrogate who carried you?" Quinn questions.

"She's a family friend. She's been friends with one of my dad's since childhood and offered to be their surrogate. But she knew from the beginning that I wasn't hers. I do talk to her though. We trade birthday and Christmas cards and e-mails over the last few years and a few times a year she visits," Rachel explains. She feels like she was on the right track thinking she knew what this conversation was about though so she offers, "She can't relate to your situation exactly, but I can have her call her if you want to talk to her about what it could be like."

"Finn told you I'm giving her up?" Quinn guesses. Rachel simply nods, looking like she feels guilty- she understands that.

"You don't have to you know," Rachel dares to say. She see's the other girl's eyes glance to her and she doesn't know what they're saying, but she fears them all the same. She rushes on, "I'm not saying this because of Finn either. He has nothing to do with this. Just, I suppose it's…I don't think anyone should have to give up something they love."

"What if it's the smarter decision?" Quinn challenges and not in the tone she would have expected. She thought she'd respond to something like that sarcastically, effectively adding on, "Tell me oh wise Rachel Berry who knows everything." But she doesn't. Rachel is simply being honest and it's a quality she wishes she had more of.

Instead of directly answering her question, Rachel says, "I can't honestly say what I would do if I was in your situation. But every time you wanted me to feel bad about myself you succeeded in doing so. I think you're the type of person who's determined enough to succeed in anything you want. So maybe it doesn't matter what the smarter decision is, you'd make anything work."

"Thank you," she says quietly, trying not to break this odd occurrence of Rachel Berry knowing her and believing in her more than she's been able to believe in herself as the guilt has mounted over the last few days.

Rachel simply smiles in response and adds the shampoo to her hair. She comments as water splashes on to her clothes, "This is a lot easier when working with less hair. Less messy." Quinn raises a quizzical eyebrow at her and she explains, "I helped Noah clean up when he got slushied."

"Right, when you were dating," Quinn says and knows it sounds a lot more biting than she means to say it.

"Yeah," Rachel confirms and not being one to hold back any of the thoughts in her head, continues, "That was disastrous."

"Why?" Quinn is quick to question and she knows that the surprise and interest is showing clearly on her face, but she can't focus enough on that right now to mask it as usual.

Rachel looks guilty again, but she forges ahead, "I agreed to date him for the wrong reasons. I was trying to-"

"Make Finn jealous," Quinn completes knowingly.

"Yes," Rachel confirms. She sighs and slips into her old habit of rambling as she rinses out the shampoo, "And I know it was wrong, but since the opportunity came up... Then it turned out that Noah was only dating me to get over you and neither one of us being in it for each other was just ridiculous so I ended it and suggested that we be friends. I mean, we both want to be with someone who's not available, it makes sense that we should be friends. Then he was briefly jerk-like again and now he ignores me."

"Wait, what?" Quinn questions for the third time (the other two Rachel had just kept talking, seeming not to hear her).

"What about what?" Rachel asks before she gives it any thought. "Oh," she says realizing what she had said to the girl who's hair she was now adding conditioner to, "Don't worry I'm not going to say anything to anyone."

"About what?" Quinn questions, hoping that Rachel doesn't know the truth as she's implied she does.

"Noah liking you," Rachel answers as if it's obvious and not at all a big deal. She's used to dominating conversations and continues immediately, "I don't believe in gossip though so you can trust that I won't repeat that knowledge to anyone. Although Noah is much less subtle than he clearly thinks he is so I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many people know about him. And if he had let me be his friend I would have been able to critique him on his ability to hide his feelings and give him tips on how to improve. Not that I'm very successful at it, but my feelings were revealed long ago and everyone knows so there's not much point for me to pretend. But Finn hasn't caught on yet and I don't think he should so-"

"Rachel!" Quinn practically yells and it finally gets the girl's attention. She'd been trying to ask her what she meant by Puck liking her since she said it, but the girl just wouldn't shut up.

"Sorry," she says wincing as she finishes rinsing out the conditioner, "I ramble when I get nervous. And I know a secret involving you and I'm talking about it even though I knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do. There's no controlling my mouth sometimes. And I kind of thought you may kill me just for knowing."

"Knowing what?" Quinn demands as Rachel hands her a towel to wrap her hair in. She's pretty sure that she knew what Rachel said, but she needed to hear it repeated again, confirmed.

Rachel actually looks like she doesn't want to say anything for a minute (it's a miracle if she ever saw one- and with really unfortunate timing since she actually wants her to talk right now). But she gives into the urge and answers, "Knowing Noah likes you. He watches you all the time when he thinks no one is looking. And I pretty much got him to confirm as much when he expressed a lot of anger over the fact that you and Finn don't seem like you're ever breaking up."

Quinn knows that if she says something there's a pretty good chance that whatever she lets leave her mouth will give her away. She'll reveal something she doesn't want to, can't afford to. And it doesn't matter if Rachel's promised to be trustworthy (and must have been sitting on this information for well over a week and has so far proved that trust), because she can't tell Rachel anything that could potentially lead her to the truth. So she ignores what Rachel's said and is saying in hopes that it will just go away.

Rachel takes the fact that Quinn gets the hair dryer out of the bag and blow dries her hair for ten minutes instead of saying a single thing as a sign that she doesn't want to talk about it. But it's in her nature to go too far, push too hard, so she can't help saying more as soon as Quinn puts the hair dryer away. She continues, "It must be difficult dealing with your boyfriend's best friend liking you on top of everything else. Noah seems intent on trying to move on- though that clearly hasn't been working for him."

"What do you mean?" she asks and hopes Rachel's too self-absorbed to notice the speed at which she asked the question.

"I'm fairly sure he hasn't gotten into any girls' pants in a while," Rachel responds bluntly before trying to continue on with her original thought. Her forehead crinkles though because she's no longer exactly sure what she was going to say. She re-thinks and instead questions, "You didn't know he likes you?"

"No," she responds simply and honestly. He had never said as much so she was never really sure and despite Rachel's claim she's still not sure. Maybe Rachel had just been seeing what she wants to see (something that could break her and Finn up).

"Hmm, I thought you were smarter and more aware than that," Rachel says thoughtfully and as much as it sounds like it could be an insult she simply states it as a fact. She continues as to not let the words really settle in, "Anyway, I don't think you have to worry about him trying to break you and Finn up or anything. He seems resigned to the idea that that's impossible." She adds quieter, "You don't have to worry about me trying to break you up either. I still want him to like me of course, but he's with you and I respect that."

Quinn stops curling her hair, feeling bad suddenly. Rachel made the declaration so earnestly. She's going to respect that Finn is hers, only she hasn't respected the fact that Finn is hers and that's how she ended up in this situation in the first place. She offers, mostly out of the guilt that's eating her alive, "You can add me to the people you send those text reminders. And you don't have to avoid me."

Rachel beams for a second, but quickly stops as she warns, "You may not want to declare that just yet because I have a question I've been wondering, if you'd be willing to answer it."

"Sure," Quinn agrees as she continues curling her hair.

She launches into it immediately, no hesitance to get what she wants ever, "Well, you seem as nearly determined as I am to get what I want. And you seemed very committed to the idea of chastity. Why did you stop believing in it? Why did you have sex?"

It's not the question she expected or that anyone else has dared to ask. Surprisingly, she doesn't need a lie for this. She responds honestly, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Rachel challenges skeptically.

"Not at all," she confesses, eyes toward the ground because there's a mirror in front of her and she can't stand to look at herself in it anymore.

Rachel doesn't question her about it more, seeming to believe her. Instead Rachel launches into any extremely detail oriented critique of her performances in all of their past numbers. She really can't curl her hair quick enough after that.

By the time she's done it's still not time for glee practice, but there's not really enough time to go anywhere and make it back in time either. She knows it won't erase the guilt because it never has before, but Rachel has been nice to her all the same so she offers to let Rachel- as she puts it- learn how to not be so sharp until glee club starts.

-o-o-o-

When she's inevitably alone that night, she's plagued by what Rachel asked her. She wasn't lying to Rachel. She's doesn't really know why she slept with him and the fact that she avoids thinking about that day at all costs doesn't help her figure it out.

So she thinks about it.

She remembers that day so clearly. Her mom had been telling her she looked like she gained weight for three days in a row. She felt horrible. She felt like she was failing them and like she didn't know why she was trying to do all these things for them in the first place.

It's a Friday night and the football team loses as usual. The first thing all the football players want to do after a game is eat and the cheerleaders, though they don't partake, are always invited. Of course she goes to join Finn.

She doesn't have her car that night though because her mom made her dad take it away for the weekend- since her mom said she looked like she gained weight and could therefore use the walking car-less-ness would induce. So she rides over to the pizza place that's tonight's destination with Finn. She doesn't really talk to or even interact with Finn much while the football players eat, but that's pretty normal- the guys somehow being separate from the girls.

Eventually she realizes she should find Finn in the packed pizza parlor so they can head to the party at the dumps (yeah, in Lima they party at the dumps- classy of them isn't it- but it's less likely to get broken up by the cops so she tolerates it). She makes a few laps around the pizza parlor and doesn't find Finn. Eventually she spots Puck and asks him if Finn's in the bathroom or something. He tells her that Finn left like an hour ago- he was tired and going home. She grumbles about how he was her ride. Puck says that he was just about to leave for the party, he can give her a ride there or home.

She doesn't really want to go to the party, but it's expected of her so she tells Puck to take her there with him. On the way though she starts complaining about how horrible the parties at the dumps always are and how completely pointless they feel. She's surprised when Puck agrees with her. He says he knows she doesn't usually drink at these things, and he doesn't really recommend consuming the alcohol available at them, but it does help a bit and he has some wine coolers in the back which she may actually like cause they're pretty fruity.

Each day seems to be getting worse and worse for her lately. Her mom's been on her case claiming she's fat (she's a size zero for God's sake). Her boyfriend just forgot about her completely (and it's not the first time). She sighs and tells him sure, she'll have one.

He pulls over on a little dirt road off of the one they're driving on in the country (dumps are on the outskirts of town- hence the reason cops don't usually show up) and gets out the pack. Before she realizes it she's drinking her third and so is he.

After she started to sort of feel the first one- and she's not exactly drunk, just a lot more carefree than she is normally- she feels bold enough to talk to him about anything despite the fact that they're not exactly friends, just two people who run in the same circles. The first thing she asks is one thing that she's been worried about for a while. She asks him, "Why did Finn stop liking me?"

He shrugs in response instead of actually saying anything because he's certainly not drunk enough to be that stupid. She's Finn's girl so he can't slip into normal habits and flirt.

Not flirting on his part and her feeling a bit bold somehow equals that they have a completely honest conversation lasting the couple of hours it takes them to go from the end of their first bottles to halfway through their third.

She tells him all about her parents and how she's just being the person they want her to be because it will definitely get her out of Lima, out of Ohio, and then she'll be away and never have to come back and she can be anyone she wants.

He tells her that he's getting out of Ohio too. He doesn't much care where. Just away. And he's even started saving up his money to leave. He got a job at a fast-food restaurant for a while, but after his boss pissed him off he peed in the fryolator and got fired. But now he just learned about taking care of pools so he's doing that for some money until he finds another job. He figures he can have a few thousand by graduation though and then he'll never have to come back to Lima either.

She tells him then, a soft confession, that Finn doesn't like her anymore because she's fat- or at least that's what her mom keeps telling her.

He says that that's stupid.

This prompts her to ask again, "Then why did Finn stop liking me?"

This time, halfway through his third drink and over two hours later, he's not any closer to being drunk, but he likes her more- he's never really talked to a girl before, never thought it could feel this good. So he doesn't listen to the voice in his head that tells him not to say what he's thinking. He answers her, "Hell if I know. From where I'm sitting a guy'd have to be fucking crazy not to want you."

It makes her feel better than she has in a long time, in longer than she can remember. She dares to ask, thinking it will help her keep this good feeling he's causing, "Does that mean you want me?"

"Yes," he answers her seriously. He knows the answer was always yes- even long before she was Finn's. It was impossible not to see that she's the most beautiful girl in school, so the answers always been yes. But just because he said it doesn't mean anything has to happen here.

Only, she has a different idea. All night long as they've been talking he's been giving her this genuine smile. It's not that smarmy smirk she's seen him use to get girls. It's a real smile and it looks really good on him, makes her feel even better because she caused it. And they're out here all alone in the middle of nowhere under the shroud of darkness. It feels like the world doesn't exist outside the walls of his truck. And if there's no world outside of this, then she doesn't have a reason not to follow through on the urge to kiss him. So she does.

And she remembers the rest so clearly, more clearly than she should if alcohol had really been effecting her brain. She remembers his hands, calloused and rough but gentle. She remembers his lips and the little tremble in them when he went to kiss her after she told him that she doesn't want to stop- even though she never thought her first time would be in the front seat bench of an old Chevy pick-up. She remembers his eyes and how they looked nervous but sure all at the same time. And she remembers his arms, and how they held her so tightly to him after and felt so safe.

Now, lying in her bed and thinking back to it almost exactly sixteen weeks earlier, she realizes that not thinking about that night was a really bad idea. Because now that she did her answer for why she slept with him was so simple and so obvious. She slept with him because she wanted to. She's felt fake with everyone else and maybe it was thanks to the wine coolers breaking down her walls, but she felt real with him. So she gave in to that feeling of being known and seen by someone and let herself get caught up in it.

Or at least she did until the morning when she woke up in his truck still tightly in his arms. She freaked out and yelled at him and blamed him and told him that this was a mistake and it never happened and will never happen again. He'd better not try to ever talk to her again or she'd find a way to make him regret it. Instead of arguing, he simply grabbed her and kissed her. She kissed back. He pulled away and said, "Thought so." As if that proved everything she just said wrong. So she slapped him and demanded that he take her home or she'd call the police. It was extreme, but the person she wasn't had come back full force.

He drove her home in silence, obeyed when she asked to be dropped a couple blocks from her house. And didn't talk to her, barely looked at her since.

She feels so horrible, guilty, about how she handled things with him now. At first she could only think of how she felt and how she couldn't believe that she just up and decided to lose her virginity to her boyfriend's best friend in a pick-up truck no less. But later the guilt set in because she kissed him first and she told him she wanted to sleep with him and then she took it all back and treated him like he didn't matter when he did.

She feels especially bad about that day after and the day he confronted her about the baby if what Rachel said was true. If he really does like her and she shoved him away so forcefully, treated him so badly. She thinks despite what he told her that second day she was so cold to him, after everything and especially because of the part where Rachel said he's determined to move on from her, she'll have to eliminate him from her short list of people she could count on when the truth comes out. She doesn't deserve to count on him.

The thought makes her cry herself to sleep again. After everything she's done, she supposes she deserves to have him taken away from her just as she's ready to admit that she wants him.

Him not wanting her is just another price of her sins.

-o-o-o-

**Puck**

She went to school on Friday (not able to forget the fact that it was sixteen weeks to the day that she slept with Puck) and there was really nothing that happened that should have made her feel like it was bad. Except at the end of the day, it still felt like a bad day. (Possibly because she all of a sudden seemed to be passing him in the halls constantly- and he still didn't look at her.)

In actuality the day should have felt pretty good. She had everyone from glee around all day as had become usual, plus Brittany came up to her that day. She thought Brittany may have been confused because unless she wanted to piss of Coach Sylvester then she really shouldn't have been talking to her in the hall. But Brittany said, it's okay, she doesn't like being a Cheerio much anymore, it's less fun- especially since having to deal with Coach Sylvester as the new captain is really making Santana flip out. Brittany then tells her that Kurt had told her about how she couldn't get a manny-petty with him earlier in the week because of the baby and she gives a great manny-petty- never had to go to a nail salon in her life, despite her fabulous nails- and she researched online that it's being in the nail salon that's bad for the baby. She then invited her over for the following afternoon, offering to do her nails and promising that it will be fun and Kurt said that she has to go. She agrees.

And that night she hangs out with Arty and Tina and Mercedes and after the game they're joined by both Kurt and Brittany and she has a good time.

But at the end of the day, she still feels horrible.

She has a good time on Saturday, and Sunday is pretty stress free (church, homework), but when Monday comes she's still feels lost and hopeless. She knows it probably has a lot to do with the fact that she hasn't been able to add anything to her list, nothing more she's been able to find to offer her daughter. And therefore she still hasn't found a reason not to give her up (other than the fact that she already loves her so much).

She feels like wearing her raincoat into school, but she resists because of what she said to the glee kids. She decides to leave it in her closet, but she feels so bad, and she doesn't make it out the front door before she's running back upstairs to get it and immediately put it on. She mentions how she heard it was going to rain today (it's not and she never heard that) to explain away her coat and puts on a smile while she does it. Because she should feel grateful and happy that she has them, but somehow she just feels worse with every passing second.

It's brunch and she's standing near the choir room waiting for Kurt and whoever else decides to join them today. She see's it coming at the same time she see's them coming (Kurt, Arty, Tina, Mercedes, Rachel). And she doesn't move. Doesn't put up the hood on her raincoat to better protect herself. She just stands there. And the two guys, a slushie each, get her pretty good (though slightly prematurely). They get her books and her binder and her face, bits splattering into her hair. And she see's them down the hall, the glee kids, just looking at her and it feels like they know that she just stood there and took it and she can't face their kindness right now. She drops her books, binder, and flees to the nearest restroom as fast as her feet will take her.

She doesn't hear the footsteps following.

Puck was heading to the choir room because he left his binder in there last Thursday. His teachers let him get away with that excuse on Friday, but they weren't having it today so he had to get it and turn in the stuff he needed to immediately (right after he actually does it). And he saw the whole thing, ten steps behind the kids from glee. He didn't know he'd be running into her otherwise he wouldn't have gone then. But then he saw her see the slushies coming and just stand there and he can't believe this is still going on and he can't believe how she's handling it (or not handling it) and he's had enough. The glee kids don't make a move to go after her and maybe that's because he's already doing it. It probably disturbs her little plan to make sure it's clear that Finn's the only possible father of her baby, but screw it, he's tired of this crap. He picks up her stuff and runs after her.

He follows right into the girls bathroom without hesitation (it's not like he hasn't been in there before). He takes two quick steps in before he comes to a halt. He doesn't know what he's going to say. He didn't actually think this through at all- seems to have a habit of doing that. He just looks at her. She hasn't seen him yet, didn't turn to the sound of the door opening. She's just standing in front of the sink closest to the opposite wall staring in the mirror.

He takes her obliviousness as a chance to bend and glance under the stalls. No one else seems to be in there.

His movement of standing back up catches her eye. She turns around, immediately on the defensive and demands, "What are you doing here?"

He holds up the books and answers, "You dropped them."

If he picked them up and he was already there and the glee kids were in the hall and saw her get slushie, then they had to see what he did too. She doesn't let the panic show, instead she goes with anger and accuses, "You followed me? _In public!_ What if people get the wrong idea?"

"You mean the right one," he can't help responding with a smirk. He watches her get more furious so he relents, "I was just saving your stuff from getting stolen after your little hallway melt down. You know the normal response for someone looking out for you is thank you."

"I don't need anyone looking out for me," she denies immediately, as confidently as she can. She doesn't know why she does it. She knows it's not a smart (nor accurate) thing to say, but she adds, "Why don't you go play hero to _Rachel_ instead?"

He shakes his head and lets out a laugh that isn't because this is funny, just sucky and ironic. "You can't be jealous and reject me at the same time," he informs her.

Oh if only he knew, she'd been all kinds of contradictions lately and the worst part was all of it only made her feel more lost. She sighs and says as coldly as possible, "Fine. Leave."

"Gladly," he agrees in a huff. He doesn't have to take this from her, he could have any girl, he's a stud. He sets down her binder and books, well more like drops them unintentionally. When he bends to right them, he sees a folded paper fallen out of her binder and picks it up, decides to keep it if it's good (he doesn't have anything to let him hang on to her) and slip it in her locker sometime if it's boring like math homework. He leaves without another word.

He stops right outside the bathroom door and opens the paper. He sees what the point of it is pretty easily- knowing her situation, it's not that hard to figure out. And the truth is that he hates her. Hates what she's done to him (hates what she hasn't done to him). He wanted to be a bachelor for life. Never wanted to be a relationship guy because if he was then he had a chance to end up like his dad- he'd never have anything to walk away from if he was a bachelor for life. And then she comes along like a speeding bus, knocks right into him and changes the world as he knows it. And then she tries to change it back again only it really hasn't been working for him. He hates going along with everything she says, everything she wants. And he hates that he helped get her in the place she's in, hates that it has broken her so much that she's taking slushies like she deserves them. He hates this whole mess and he remembers as he reads the paper of hers, that he had followed her for a reason and he never got to it while he was with her.

He puts the paper in his pocket and goes back into the bathroom. She's drying her face with a paper towel, but she glances at the door at the sound of it closing. She looks defeated.

"I thought I told you to go," she says and it sounds sort of like a plea.

"Yeah," he agrees, "but I decided not to." He strolls further into the bathroom as he explains, "See, I've been doing what you want and it sucks, so I'm not going to anymore."

"What do you mean?" she questions hoping that he doesn't mean he's going to leave and go tell Finn the truth immediately.

"You tell me to do something, I'm not going to do it," he says slower as he comes to lean against the sink that's two down from the one she's at (he'd get closer, but then it'd be harder to think).

She doesn't know what to say to that. Is she supposed to try and convince him that it wouldn't be in his best interest as Finn's best friend? Is she supposed to try and charm him into doing what she wants? Is she supposed to beg or bargain her way into him obeying her? Or is this just her sins coming back to haunt her again? She glances in the mirror out of the corner of her eye. She hasn't recognized the girl staring back in what feels like forever. She blinks once, twice, three times and says to the linoleum as she wets the paper towel in her hand, "Fine."

He's surprised, but really after everything he's seen her do lately, he should have known she'd just give up. "Not even gonna fight?" he questions and rubs in, "Not that you ever do anymore."

She feels horrible enough when she's alone, being around people, being around him, it makes it all worse. It's not the baby making her feel like her stomach is sinking, it's the guilt. She asks tiredly (he doesn't want her, it's another price of her mistakes), "Why do you care?"

He doesn't. Or at least he wishes that he didn't. But she looks so fragile and lost and not Quinn and as much as he hates her, he can't fall into regular patterns and say something mean right now. He shrugs and glances at the floor. He wants to be honest and this may be one the only chances he gets to say something like this so he doesn't want to wuss out while doing it. He looks at her determined and answers, "You know, for all the things he's always had that I could never hope to, I've never been jealous of Finn. Envious briefly on occasion, but not jealous once in the decade I've known him. But lately…I'm not yours and you're not mine, never have been, and I'm jealous anyway. Keep finding myself hating my best friend because of it."

He had lost his words before, but now, as he looks at her with slushie still dripping down her raincoat, he's found them. He continues coming one sink closer to her, so he's at the one right next to her, "But I'm not here cause I want you. I'm here because I can't believe you've been letting yourself get slushied every day."

"What exactly am I supposed to do about it?" she demands angrily. She heard the other stuff, but it's hard to concentrate on the nice but confusing things when he's insinuating things about her.

"Fight back," he offers as if it's obvious, " don't let it happen."

"Easier said than done," she argues.

"Please," he says with a roll of his eyes, "you can handle yourself. I've seen you do it before, but now you're choosing not to."

"What do you mean I can handle myself?" she agrees that she can, but she has no idea why he would think that.

"It was the first day of freshman year," he recalls, "you were walking down the main hall, short white dress, and Andy Freeman, that senior douche football player, grabbed your ass. It was like lightning how quick you grabbed his hand and twisted it to have him cowering and wincing. And I remember you said, 'I'm a cheerleader. And if I can lift another girl over my head then I can certainly break your hand if it ever comes into contact with any part of me ever again.' And you didn't break it then, but I remember he had trouble throwing and catching for like a week."

"You remember that?" she questions stunned. She didn't even remember meeting him for the longest time after that nor does she remember who she was walking with during the incident.

"Yeah," he admits to the floor. He's not so good with being honest or vulnerable and it's starting to get to him. He decides he should head out before he really screws this up. He continues getting back to his original point, "And you handled that guy on your own so I know you can handle all these assholes that have been getting you with slushies. You keep letting yourself get hit with them though like you deserve them." He notices the way her face blanches and realizes he's on to something. He questions, "You think you deserve what those idiots have been doing to you?"

Has she lost everything? She used to be able to mask anything she felt so well and he just read her like an open book. There's no point denying so she defends her feeling pointing out, "After everything I've done to you and Finn, can you really say that I don't deserve it?"

"Yes," he declares immediately. He continues, "I mean, I've been pretty pissed at you for all this crap, but you don't deserve the way people have been treating you."

"I feel so guilty," she admits softly, staring down to hide the tears that are now rolling down her face (though, she couldn't hide the watery tone to her voice).

"Yeah, me too," he agrees quietly. She's breaking (again, he guesses) beside him and he's never been good at anything like this. He doesn't want to screw it up more by staying and eventually saying and doing the wrong thing (turning ass-like like he did with Rachel). "You should fight back," he tells her, "if you don't, I will. And I don't care what people think about it. I told you I'm going to be there for my kid."

He really wants to reach out and touch her and as close as he currently is to her, that's a possibility. Touching could be a huge mistake though (after all, she didn't pick him). Instead, he takes a few steps towards the door. He pauses, turns and adds, "You look _horrible_ in that raincoat by the way." It seems kind of ass-like and possibly therefore a mistake, but despite her hung head and curtain of hair, he sees the corners of her mouth turn up and he leaves the bathroom with a smile. He may have just gotten something right for a change.

She doesn't know how or why she feels better. Usually spending time around anyone has been making her feel worse. But he doesn't hate her and he does want her and given her sins that's something she didn't expect at all.

She cleans up the coat, but takes it off and leaves it in her locker the rest of the day. It's been a tough day and she has a lot to think about, but one thing he was definitely right about- the coat really wasn't flattering.

-o-o-o-

She spends Monday night thinking of that day and being in the bathroom with Puck. She felt so guilty about everything she's done. It was nice to know that not only was she not alone in that guilt, but that when he found out she was giving in to the punishment she was presented with he thought she didn't deserve it. Because if anyone had reason to think she deserved it, it would be him and Finn and at least one of them didn't.

She's not any less confused about everything though. He wants her, and she knows that at least once, she wanted him. And there was just something about the way he looked at her that made her feel a lot less horrible than she had been.

But with the baby and Finn and Puck and the slushies and whether or not she should still be just letting other people punish her for the things that she's done that she thinks were mistakes- she's still too overwhelmed to think clearly.

She goes to school Tuesday without the raincoat and with a new pair of shoes on. She hasn't made a decision about the raincoat and slushies, but she did tell the glee kids not to wear them and she knows she should really stick with that. She wears the new shoes because she's decided to try and be a little more positive. And she bought the shoes nearly a year ago only to find out that they were a little too wide to wear, but pregnancy has started to make her feet swell so she gets to wear the cute ballet flats now. They don't help her feel anymore thrilled with herself really, but it's a small attempt to.

Kurt compliments her on the cute yellow shoes immediately- especially since they go with her top and since she's following his advice about yellow being one of her best colors. When he rambles all this, she responds with a real smile. Her first that isn't forced in days (weeks).

She gets through the morning with the support of the glee kids as usual. Out of the ordinary though, Puck finds her at her locker at the start of brunch.

He holds out a folded piece of paper and simply says, "Here."

She unfolds it curiously and immediately recognizes it as her list. Only, he's made changes.

He explains, "I added some stuff that could be true, if you take back your life. Be the person you've always been." He looks a bit nervous as he runs his hand over the back of his mohoawk and adds glancing away, "And you know, make some other changes too." He looks around, still looking uncomfortable, and mutters a later before quickly leaving for his own locker down the hall.

She's supposed to meet some of the glee kids in the choir room and Finn so he can walk her to their Spanish class, but she shuts her locker and turns to lean against it as she texts Finn that she'll meet him in class and the glee kids that she'll see them later. She takes time to read what he's written, to consider it.

She had love written down as the thing that she can definitely offer and he put a dash next to adding, "_From two parents." _She then had home and money and family written down all with asterisks because she didn't know how those would actually work out. Next to home he wrote down, "_You're her mother, home will be wherever you are." _ It's sweet, but not that realistic. She reads on to money, next to which he added, _"I can help. I just got hired at our one and only Starbucks last weekend. They give benefits after three months. It's not ideal, but we could make it work." _Next is family, which continues with the same sentiment of 'we', _"I'm never going to run like my dad. I mean it when I say I want her to be my family." _

Then he added more to her list:

_You can teach her how to be a Christian (while I teach her about being a Jew despite your expected protests). _

_You can teach her how to be popular. _

_You can teach her how to take care of herself (if you ever remember what it's like to do that). _

_(I can teach her how to throw a punch without hurting her thumb.)_

_And you could probably teach her a hundred girly things I don't know anything about. _

_You could be a good mother. Start now. _

By the end of the short list she's completely forgotten where she is; the world around her melting away as well as the legs that are holding her up.

She gets everything he's saying. And it sounds so good. Despite the thing about the home, everything else sounds unexpectedly right. There are a lot of things she could teach her daughter and she can't believe she hadn't thought of a single one of them before (the guilt having clouded her mind). She could teach her daughter how to do the splits, how to pray, how to succeed in a vicious environment (high school). She could teach her all the things she had to learn on her own because her parents weren't really that interested.

She notices that Puck doesn't make any declaration or suggestion that they be together as their daughter's parents. Not that she exactly expected him to, but she realizes, she wishes he did-because, and it has nothing to do with not wanting to be alone, she'd be more than open to that idea. But he is offering to be there for her and their daughter and as she reads the things he can contribute (realizes that he wrote this and figured out what was wrong with her- saved her), they could actually make it work like he said.

And it's no longer some insane, far-fetched idea that she could keep her daughter. It's a real possibility.

She hears loud, obnoxious laughter from down the hall and it distracts her from re-reading the list. She lifts her head and seeks out the source. Dave Karofsky is walking in her direction with a slushie in his hand and two buddies at his side.

It's the same scenario as yesterday playing over again. She's standing in the hall and there's a slushie coming that is most certainly meant for her (he's gotten her three times already, there's no way it's headed for anyone else).

She glances down the hall and notices that Puck is still at his locker looking back at her. He looks down the hall at the approaching slushie briefly and back at her and she knows he's seen it too. She remembers his words from the previous day. For the sake of their daughter, he's going to do something about it if she doesn't. She doesn't have to wonder if he's actually going to follow through on that because she can see his fists clenching already.

She remembers his words too, the ones she still has in her hands. He told her to be a good mother and that she should start now and she knows this is the type of thing he was talking about.

And she decides.

She has a daughter and a class rank to protect and she is not going to spend any more time in a bathroom missing class and cleaning a horribly sticky substance off of her. She's making it out of this school and going to college on a scholarship so she can give her little girl a mother to be proud of. And a mother she can be proud of does not consist of letting Dave Karofsky make her feel guilty for sins she committed that have absolutely nothing to do with him or any of the other immature asses that have been torturing her.

While he's still a safe three feet away, she orders firmly, "Karofsky, stop right there if you want to keep the appendage that will allow you to eventually get a girl in my condition."

He takes half a step forward, unsure if he's being smart or stupid, but notices the intense glare and steps back to his former place.

"You will not throw that at me," she demands, "because if you do I will go straight to your mother's register at Wal-Mart and let her know that you've been harassing a pregnant girl. Something I'm sure she'll be very disappointed about given she was that girl when she was in high school."

He doesn't look scared as much as he looks confused. But he's a hockey player so she figures she'll have to settle for that. She takes a step forward and reaches for the drink in his hand, the bell rings in the background. She grabs the drink and though she knew the threat about his mother was true and probably effective, she's pleased to see that it works and he lets her take the slushie without a fight.

Now there are two things she could do here. She could let him go and hopefully end his slushies forever, animosity tempered for the moment. Or she could chuck it at him. He's thrown three slushies at her though so the answer is obvious. She throws it at him, followed by the cup itself, and explains, "That's for the three you already threw at me. But if you or anyone else throws another one at me, I'll be spending time with your mother."

Dave sulks off with an angry grunt, his two gooiness following closely behind.

She's smiling, feeling better than she has in over a month. There's sort of a crowd just dispersing around her, but she turns her back to them and gets her books out of her locker as she probably doesn't have that much more time before class starts. When she turns around, she seeks out Puck, seeing if he's still around. He's still standing at his locker. He's smiling at her (that same real smile from that infamous Friday night) and she melts a little. He looks proud of her and honestly, she's proud of herself.

She turns to head to class feeling like her life finally makes sense again. She has hope again. And she dares to actually believe that everything will indeed be okay.

-o-o-o-

The thing is that no one seemed to pick up on, the thing that had yet to affect anyone, is that slushies are slippery.

Just as she starts to redeem her lies and the person they made her, she takes a fall. Only this one is literal.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter. **

**Next chapter, basically, it hits the fan, so to speak. **

**Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **First, as always, thank you to the many wonderful people who reviewed! You all are awesome.**

Second, I am so sorry for not getting this out yesterday. I feel horrible that I didn't. I really strived to- cranked out the last twelve pages yesterday. But as Glee came on my TV screen I still had the last three paragraphs to write and I hadn't proofread at all (and my tired, still somewhat cold-hazy eyes still probably missed some things). Since I didn't make that deadline I decided to take a bit more time with it and do some much needed polishing. I hope it's worth the wait.

Third, as mentioned, this chapter's structure and concept it completely different than the previous ones.

Forth, how great was all the Quick in last night's episode?

Finally, I will shut up and let you get to the last chapter (the longest yet). Happy reading!

* * *

**Redemption **

_The restoration of (wo)man from the bondage of sin.

* * *

_

She's not huge. Far from it actually. She's showing so little that her pants are only barely tight. Yet, since about halfway through her first trimester her balance has been off. Her doctor said it was perfectly normal and that most falls wouldn't hurt the baby, but while she was still a Cheerio it really worried her. Since she's been off the team though, she hadn't thought about it once. Not until her feet slipped out from under her at least.

Her balance was off, she was wearing new shoes with apparently somewhat slippery soles, and there was slushie on the ground that she forgot about in her triumphant high. That combination of things caused her feet to slip out from under her and to land flat on her back on the ground, hitting her head and books flying out of her arms in the process.

The next thing she remembers is Puck's face over hers, looking more concerned than she'd ever seen him. He was still watching her when she took the fall and he ran right over, pushing the other concerned people out of his way.

The second thing she notices is that that's not Puck's voice talking to her. She doesn't see Coach Sylvester, but she hears her asking, "Q, you alright? Can you hear me?"

She tries to talk and it comes out as a weak, "Yes." She tries to nod to confirm that she's alert, but when she does there's a sharp pain in her head as the motion of nodding just rubbed the spot she hit her head on the linoleum. "Ow," she cries softly.

"Don't move," she hears Coach order, "an ambulance should be here soon."

"Ambulance?" she asks feeling a bit hazy, "Is that necessary?"

"You hit your head pretty hard," Puck responds. He adds softly, "And we should probably make sure the baby's okay."

The baby. Crap. Her hand flies to her abdomen and tears sting in her eyes as she realizes, "The baby…"

"Will be fine," Puck interrupts confidently. He takes her hand and explains, "You were just out for a few seconds there and…" he admits softly looking down at her hand in his instead of at her, "got scared."

"We're taking you to the hospital, no arguments Fabray," Coach Sylvester's voice interrupts, from somewhere north of her head, and clearly not noticing that someone else was in the middle of saying something to her. "Get to class," she hears her yell next. She doesn't try to turn her head, but she doesn't hear many footsteps so she assumes the crowd that was there was no longer too big.

"Sue," calls a familiar voice.

"Emma," Sue responds uncharacteristically accurate in the midst of the crisis, "I've got the straggling students under control. Can you go tell Schuester so we can track down Hudson and get him on the ambulance when it comes?"

Emma's eyes widen and she splutters, "Uh…"

"What?" Sue demands of the weak guidance counselor for her hesitation.

"We-well," she stutter, and she glances at Puck and Quinn (Puck who's looking back at her having heard the conversation and wondering why they guidance counselor seems to be clued in).

Sue doesn't catch on though and simply declares, "Fine, you wait with Q, I'll go get Schuester."

As Sue marches off Emma's eyes widen in alarm and she asks quickly as she follows after Sue hurriedly, "Mr. Puckerman, you're okay here right? Just keep Quinn awake to try and prevent a concussion."

He doesn't get a chance to respond before the meek counselor is out of sight.

"A concussion?" Quinn asks worriedly.

"You'll be fine," Puck assures, for both their benefits.

It's just the two of them now. Her flat on her back, him sitting beside her holding her hand, in the empty hallway.

"What if she's not?" she asks, face crumpling into a sob in the process.

He squeezes her hand that's in his, brushes her hair away from her face with his other hand and promises, "She will be. She will be."

-o-o-o-

As this is happening in the hall, Sue barges right into Will's Spanish class and immediately notices the presence of Finn. Emma rushes in and declares that there is an emergency and she needs Sue and Will outside immediately. Sue goes figuring there better be a damn good reason for all of this trouble. Why couldn't they just tell the boy?

"Guys, I'm kind of in the middle of class here," Will says as soon as the door is softly shut behind them.

"Please," Sue mutters with an eye roll. Spanish is not a "class."

Will ignores it, as does Emma as she begins, "Quinn Fabray had an accident. She slipped on the ruminants of a slushie and hit her head pretty hard on the ground."

"And I'd like to go in there and let the father of her little Fabray baby know that his baby mama's going to be carted off in an ambulance momentarily, but Emily here is unexplainably determined to stop me," Sue interrupts.

"You don't want to tell Finn?" Will questions.

"Well,…you see…" Emma stumbles.

There's a commotion from inside the classroom and Will interrupts, "Hold on." He sticks his head back in the room and dictates some problems for them to have done by the time he returns. He shuts the door again and says, "Let's go back to wherever Quinn is real quick. I want to see how she is. And while we're doing that you can tell me why you don't think Finn should be told."

Emma stumbles over it for the whole minute walk back to where they left Quinn and Puck. When they come into view she accidentally sort of gestures to them as she continues her stumble, and Will catches on as he watches them.

"Seriously?" he asks Emma.

"Yeah," she confirms.

"Is this some secret language the two of you have cooked up? What in God's name are you talking about?" Sue demands, not having caught on.

They ignore her and Will continues, "We still have to tell him."

"I know," Emma agrees. But she knows what will come next when they do tell him and adds, "But-"

"Yeah," Will agrees with the thought that she doesn't get out, but he knows she was going to say anyway (because he just knows her that well). "Today's going to be quite a day," he says with a sigh. He's still watching the two kids down the hall from him, this could be their last peaceful moment of the day, he's not going to interrupt it. He tells the two women, "Tell Quinn that I hope everything is okay and I'll drop by the hospital later to check on her. I've got to get back to class. I'll give them another minute before I tell Finn."

When he gets back to his class, Will spends a minute getting everyone on a new task to follow the brief one they were doing while he was gone and makes sure everyone understands it and is indeed working on it before he pulls Finn out of the room. He tells Finn that everything is going to be fine, but Quinn did take a fall and an ambulance was called to take her to the hospital just to make sure everything is okay.

-o-o-o-

Meanwhile the ambulance arrives and Sue informs the paramedics what happened and how they didn't want to move her in case there was serious damage they couldn't tell. She also adds that Quinn is expecting so there's a fetus to make sure is okay too.

The paramedics make Puck back away while they check on Quinn and load her on to a gurney.

Emma, though not one for contact, rests a hand on Puck's arm. She knows she's one of very few people who knows why this matters to him so much, so her fear of germs and contact has to be overlooked for the moment, he's a kid and he's scared and he needs people.

Sue notice the germaphobe guidance counselor actually touching the Puckerman kid and the way he looks so worried and raises an eyebrow. She thinks she's beginning to get what Schuester and The Pill were so hush-hush about.

"Who's ridding with us?" one of the paramedics calls as they start rolling the gurney.

"I am," Puck declares without a second thought. He comes to her side to take her hand, because she's already reaching out for him. And he hopes he doesn't look as scared as he feels, because as soon as they move her he notices blood on the ground, from where her head was.

"Sue, do you want to go?" Emma questions.

The paramedics hang back and wait to see who of the school personnel will be accompanying the girl.

"No," she declines, "I'm going to go find out what's kept Figgins away from this mess and demand that something be done about this idiotic slushie war the kids have been having." She adds quietly as to not alarm Quinn, "And make sure this floor is taken care of." She begins to head off to do exactly that, and calls over her shoulder, "Good luck Q. Hope everything is okay."

"I'll be going then," Emma decides quickly, eyes averted from the mess of mostly slushie and a little blood so she's not tempted to stay and make sure it gets properly taken care of herself.

They head off for the exit as footsteps pound down one of the hallways. But they come to an abrupt halt.

-o-o-o-

Finn had raced towards the main hallway, where Mr. Schue told him Quinn was, but as he was running there he saw her gurney pass the hallway he was in. And with her were two paramedics, Ms. Pillsbury trailing behind, and Puck, holding her hand and looking more freaked out than he'd ever seen him.

Something wasn't right.

He pauses, but then he continues his run down the hallway. His brief delay allowed them to get an advantage though and as he gets to the exit he sees the ambulance pulling away.

He's not sure what's going on. He's kind of scared and even more confused. He should go to the hospital though, right? Only, his mom needed his car today and she still doesn't know about the baby so he can't call her about this. Mr. Schue has always come through for him though so he heads back to class.

He interrupts whatever they're in the middle of and asks Mr. Schue for a ride. Mr. Schue explains he's in the middle of class, they can't get anyone to cover for him, he can't leave. Finn retaliates that he doesn't have anyone else, how is he supposed to get there? And Mr. Schue feels bad for him. He glances at the clock and tells him that class will be over in ten minutes and he has prep next period so he can drive him over then. Finn agrees gratefully.

When they leave the class though for Mr. Schue to give Finn that ride, everyone from glee somehow finds them on their way out and everyone wants to come. Stories about Quinn had already made their way around school and they were concerned. Mr. Schue can't encourage ditching, and what's about to go down between Finn and Puck and Quinn is between them, but it might be easier if there are more people around, if they all have support. He refuses to give anyone but Finn a ride and he has to report anyone he catches off campus without parent's permission, but if they have that, then he'll see them at the hospital.

Tina has well over a dozen of the passes they make parents sign when they pick up their kids to check them out of school. She passes them out to anyone who asks for them in the between periods haze and rush to get the hospital (which inadvertently consists of a few kids who aren't in glee). They all fill them out, forge signatures, and hand them back to Tina to slip into the daily pile.

Rachel then takes control organizing rides, which is much easier than she expects since Kurt has his Suburban back and it can hold most of them and Mike has his El Camino. They divide up into their normal clicks for the ride over to the hospital.

When they get there they find Finn and Mr. Schue still in the main waiting area- no one having told them where Quinn was yet.

Finn stands silently by Mr. Schue, trying to think through what's going on, while the older man attempts to talk the nurses into letting Finn know what's going on- the problem being that he's not family (and she hasn't asked for him, hasn't designated him as "family"). The rest of the glee kids simply stand behind them as Mr. Schue tries to get answers at the front desk.

Mr. Schue becomes distracted in his attempt to charm his way into answers when he notices red hair out of the corner of his eye. He resist the urge to run over to her and find out what's going on. He should be there for Finn now and Finn doesn't seem to be moving. None of the kids are moving, just standing watching their guidance counselor approach and waiting for news.

Rachel, who's standing next to Finn now that they've all turned her direction, grabs his hand in a friendly, reassuring gesture.

Emma seems surprised by the number of McKinley students out of school despite the fact that school is still very much in session, and that they're accompanied by Will, but she doesn't comment on that now, she knows they must be waiting for news. She begins, "Everyone is okay. Quinn hit her head and she needs a few stitches and they still need to make sure she doesn't have a concussion, but other than that everything is okay." Before any of them can ask she announces, "They're still fixing her up so no one can see her right now." She adds trying to lighten the mood, "Even I was asked to step out and I know everyone who works here very well."

"Where's Puck?" Finn asks. Because if they made Ms. Pillsbury leave, then shouldn't they have made him leave too? He's only her boyfriend's best friend so there's no reason he should get to stay, right?

The nine glee kids seem confused by the question. The fact that Puck was there was not part of any of the Quinn-taking-a-fall-stories circulating. And in the rush to get there, no one noticed his absence from their little group.

Mr. Schue simply looks worried.

This isn't the time or the place, and she's absolutely not the person it should be coming from. Knowing that, Emma tries to lie, "He was there when Quinn fell and he came along, but, uh, I don't know where he is or what he's doing now. I'd imagine he's around somewhere." Trying to change the topic quickly, Emma continues, "Quinn has Dr. Kerry working on her though and he's wonderful, but to be that great with stitches he does them rather slow so we're probably in for a wait. How about we grab some seats? The doctor promised me that as soon as there's any news and as soon as anyone else can see her, he'll be out here telling us."

Will encourages them to sit down and wait too. Half the glee kids take some of the empty seats on one side of one section of the waiting area, the other glee kids taking some empty seats on the opposite side of the section. The division was typical.

-o-o-o-

Will stayed towards the check-in desk with Emma. She was quick to ask, "They can all be here right?"

"They all have notes they said," he confirms, "but they got them pretty quick and I didn't ask questions about how they pulled that off." He notices another nurse go by and wave at Emma and comments, "Everyone keeps waving at you."

"I told you I know everyone here," Emma repeats, " I like it here. It's clean."

Will goes to check his watch only to remember that he hasn't found it yet. He groans and asks, "Do you have the time? I should probably head back soon."

"You have ten minutes until the end of the period, but then there's lunch so…thirty minutes left probably," Emma answers, but questions, "What happened to your watch?"

"I lost it," he explains, "I noticed it was missing about a week ago. Looked everywhere and still haven't found it."

"You know, I think there was a watch turned into the office yesterday and I remember the kid saying he found it backstage in the auditorium. It might be yours," Emma informs him.

"Thanks," Will says gratefully. All he had to do was tell her about his problem and it seemed it was already solved.

"Are you really going to leave?" She questions softly with a glance to Finn who's sitting with neither group of kids, instead having opted for a seat in the middle of the section alone, surrounded by strangers. "I mean," she continues, "these are your kids, and this could change everything."

"I know," Will agrees. He doesn't want to leave. He's a teacher though and all his students are supposed to come first, not just the ones in glee. Then again most of them aren't facing complicated situations like this one. He sighs and decides, "I guess I should call Figgins and see if he can find me a sub for the last two periods."

As Will takes out his phone and prepares to step away, he stalls when he notices Finn coming toward them. But he's relieved when Finn simply asks Emma where the bathrooms are, since she said she was familiar with the place. She gives him directions as Will goes off to call in a sub.

-o-o-o-

Meanwhile, the glee kids are all a whisper. They kept silent and to themselves while Finn was there, just in case he could over hear them, but as soon as he's left the little waiting section they're fast to make up for lost time.

"I told you Puck likes Quinn," Rachel rubs in.

"Yes but you failed to mention he's the father of her baby," Kurt points out.

"Do we know he's definitely the father?" Mercedes questions, "I mean, just cause he likes her doesn't mean she was sleeping with both of them."

"Yeah, but he was allowed…wherever with her," Arty points out.

"He was here though and Finn wasn't yet," Rachel offers.

"D-d-do you think they know anything?" Tina asks with a glance to the two cheerleaders and two football players sitting across the waiting section from them about thirty feet away.

They all follow Tina's gaze, but return their attention to their own little group. Kurt is just about to question more when their attention it drawn back to the other side of the room by Mike. "I told you Puck had a secret girlfriend," he practically shouts with a triumphant smile.

Matt simply shrugs disinterestedly, Santana has her arms crossed over her defensively looking more than a little peeved, and Brittany isn't paying attention at all, off somewhere in her mind. Mike notices the complete disinterest of those sitting around him and refrains from saying anything else. But then he notices that he did catch the attention of the other glee kids and promptly gets up and jogs over to them. He sits himself down on the floor in front of their chairs, and beside Arty as there was no other place for his chair except in front of them in the aisle.

"You guys think there's something up with all this too right?" he asks as he invites himself to join them without a second thought. After all, they're all in glee _together_.

"Yes," Kurt confirms for all of them.

"What did you mean by you knew Puck had a secret girlfriend though?" Mercedes is quick to question.

"He stopped sleeping around. I figured he did it for a girl," Mike answers simply. He looks at Rachel and asks, "You went out with him and didn't sleep with him, right?"

"Of course not," she answers, trying not to be offended as she recognizes that he's trying to make a point.

"Normally he doesn't go out with girls who he couldn't…seal the deal with," Mike explains.

"And if he's in there with Quinn then he probably 'sealed the deal' with her and then there is a possibility that it could be his kid," Kurt speculates.

"You think it could be his kid?" Mike questions, the thought never having occurred to him.

They continue speculating together for while. Brittany eventually joins them, having come out of her bubble and noticing that her side of the room was not the fun side. In the larger group Rachel finds it easy to slip away, because while she did participate in the conversation, she also noticed that Finn didn't return so she leaves discretely to seek him out.

-o-o-o-

Across the waiting area from the glee kids, two of them sat in near silence.

Eventually, Matt breaks the silence asking confidently (he's pretty sure he's on the right track), "You wondering if he only went out with you to get to her?"

She doesn't respond, but he's right, it's all she's been thinking about. She hasn't minded having worse grades or losing cheer captain to Quinn because Quinn worked harder and was genuinely better at both those things. But guys tended to be intimidated by her high standards for a boyfriend so she didn't exactly get that many offers. Even though she dumped him, she'd hate to think that one of the few guys to be interested in her this year only was because of her closest friend.

He offers, "If he did, he's an idiot."

It remains silent on their side of the room, but it's a much more happy silence.

-o-o-o-

Rachel finds Finn wandering down a hallway on the third floor.

He looks like he knows he's caught when she approaches, but denies it anyway when he responds to her question about what he's doing with, "Got lost." She quirks a knowing eyebrow at him and he caves. He admits, "Okay, I was trying to find Quinn. And Puck."

"Why?" she asks. She knows why she would be looking for them if she was him, but he doesn't know the same things as her probably and she wants to hear him say it before she jumps to any conclusions.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, "I don't know. I don't know what's going on at all."

Well, that's not helpful. Rachel, on the search for resolution, asks, "How about you tell me what you do know and maybe we can figure out what's going on?"

He smiles, he knew she was smart. They start strolling down the open hall as he says, "I know that Quinn is pregnant. I saw the ultrasound thing, there's definitely a baby in there." The next thing he knows is kind of embarrassing. He hates talking about this kind of stuff so he blushes as he admits, "I know that I never slept with Quinn."

"What?" Rachel breaks in with a sharp look to him, "You never slept with Quinn? How did you think you got her pregnant?"

Finn blushes more and looks at his shoes as he explains, "I…I had an…accident in her hot tub while we were making out. She said her doctor said that's how it happened."

Rachel wants to laugh. And cry. Oh, this is just so messed up. And oy vey has the public school system failed him. She refrains from saying anything and hopes he's on the right track now and not still believing in that ridiculousness.

"Anyway," he continues, "I also know that I saw Puck with her as she was being wheeled away. He was holding her hand. And I've never seen him so worried."

He stops talking. Rachel was expecting some kind of realization, but since he's not having it, she helps out recapping, "So you never slept with Quinn, she's pregnant, and Puck is worried about her."

He doesn't have some "Oh my God," moment. He simply states, "I'm not the father."

"No," Rachel agrees, "I don't see how you could be."

"Puck is," he says, in that same surprisingly even tone.

"It seems most likely," Rachel confirms.

They wander in silence for a few more minutes. Rachel, however, isn't so good with silence. She offers, "I think Puck really likes her. I mean, I didn't know about any of this, but I've seen him watching her. I could tell he wanted to be with her, that he cares for her. If that helps any…"

He doesn't respond to what she says, seeming deep in thought for several minutes now. Eventually he asks, "Can you help me find them? I'd still like to find where they're at."

She doesn't think it's the best thing for Noah or probably Quinn if she agrees, but Finn's a victim in all this and she cares about him, she's always going to side with him. She agrees and they start their mission.

-o-o-o-

Back downstairs Emma and Will have settled into two secluded chairs right next to each other.

They talk about the repercussions of today for a while, how a lie can do so much damage. They discuss the potential effects it could have for glee club- they may not have their twelve members after today if everything goes horribly. Emma adds that he can probably charm them back into joining even if anyone quits and she can counsel them and maybe help resolve any issues too.

Eventually though, the topic turns back to the teen they're all there for. Will asks, "Did anyone call Quinn's parents? Are they going to be here soon?"

Emma hesitates, but explains, "No, they won't be coming. Technically the school should notify them as well as the hospital, but I talked Figgins out of it and the staff here out of it for the moment- unless she has something seriously wrong."

"Why?" Will is quick to ask because notifying a parent their child has been hurt seems like the first thing to do.

Emma grimaces because she's not supposed to share things said to her in confidence by Quinn with anyone, she promised. But she may need his help pulling this off so she answers, "Quinn's parents don't know she's pregnant and I really don't think this is the best situation or time for them to find out." She sees him open his mouth to interject something so she adds quickly, "I know they should know and I've encouraged her to tell them, but…they're not going to take it well. She's had me looking into emancipation, she's convinced she'll need to do that whether or not she keeps the baby."

"Emancipation?" Will asks alarmed, "Is it really that bad? And I thought she already decided to give the baby up?"

"This is all privileged information and I really shouldn't be divulging any of it," Emma prefaces guiltily, "but yes, from what she's told me emancipation sounds like something she could have to go through with possibly as soon as her parents find out and she's not prepared for that yet. We need more time to set some things up. Which is why if the doctors decide that they need to talk with one of her parents I may need you to pose as her dad."

"What?" Will asks shocked, "If they needed me to sign anything that be fraud…or identity theft."

"She needs this," Emma retorts, "She needs us." She looks at him imploringly with her big blue doe-eyes.

He caves, "If we have to, I guess."

She smiles at him gratefully. He smiles back.

They turn back to face forward. His arm brushes hers on their shared armrest. They both let them stay like that, barely touching arms, as they continue to wait.

-o-o-o-

In a room down many hectic halls on the same floor, two other people were also touching.

The only time Puck let go of Quinn's hand was when anyone made him. But once the doctor said he was going to clean and stitch the small cut on Quinn's head the doctor insisted that Puck not only hold Quinn's hand, but talk to her and distract her as well.

He takes her hand easy enough, but he doesn't know what to say.

He's not sure that he's ever been more scared in his life than watching her fall, watching her with the paramedics, seeing the blood on the ground, watching the doctors and nurses around her make sure she's okay.

He's not sure he's ever been so relieved as when he heard that Quinn and their baby girl would be fine.

Quinn's lying on her side facing him as the doctor sits on the opposite side of her bed, cleaning out the wound on the back of her head as he holds it in place gently.

Luckily, Puck is freed from having to immediately think of something because nurse Judy, who previously introduced herself and said she'd be Quinn's nurse, came back into their little area of the bay of beds. The other beds were empty now, but the curtain around Quinn's was still drawn. Judy came and partially removed the curtain while she announced, "Alright Quinn, the first thing that's a sign of trouble when you take a fall when you're pregnant is spotting, which we're happy to say you haven't had. So, there's another good indicator that your baby is doing just fine. The womb was built to protect so you don't have to worry. After you're done with your stitches though, we'll get an ultrasound tech down here so we can double check though, just in case. Sound good?"

"Yes, thank you," Quinn says gratefully.

Silence settles over them after nurse Judy leaves.

Still without anything to say, Puck finally admits, "I don't know what to say to distract you."

She smiles because she didn't expect him to be that honest. She offers thinking back to the things she's heard while they hadn't been talking, "Kurt told me you haven't put him in a dumpster in months. Why?"

"Honestly?" He questions, which is stupid he quickly realizes. Of course she wanted the truth and it's not like she could nod a yes anyway. He responds, "I was too angry at you to beat up other people." He sees that guilty look she'd been wearing for what felt like forever now (really just a week and half or so) and he feels bad, but he's not going to lie. Lies got them in trouble already. He continues, "Then, after things changed," he nods in the direction of her stomach, "I didn't want to be the guy that beats people up- which is difficult cause a lot of them deserve it- but it's nothing a kid can be proud of in their father."

That reminded her of a lot of the things they needed to talk about and hadn't yet. It was kind of ironic that they had this forced time to talk since they actually needed to.

The doctor mutters that he's almost done cleaning her up, then he'll numb the area.

She loses her train of thought at that. Her brow furrows trying to remember, but she's really starting to feel like she did indeed hit her head. She grasps for a new topic as she hopes she remembers what she was thinking before. She asks, "Why'd you want to know your class rank?" To his look of surprise she explains simply, "Tina…and Mercedes kind of."

He shrugs and responds, "Same reason I stopped fighting." Silence begins to settle again and he realizes five word responses aren't distracting, he's not doing his job, he's not taking care of her like he said he would. He elaborates, "I never wanted to go to college. I hate school too much to do it voluntarily. But I don't want her to settle for a dad who works at Starbucks either. I figured I should know where I stand now, with blowing most of my schoolwork off, so I can improve. Though I think I could probably at least get into a tech school with my current grades."

He's already working hard for them, keeping his promise to her even though she hasn't even told him whether or not she'll let him be a part of their daughter's life. She comments, "It sounds like she'd have a lot to be proud of you for. I'm going to have to work harder to do the same."

"You're already first in our class," he reminds. He sees her surprise and explains, "Tina and Mercedes."

He looks nervous sitting there before her. She remembers all the things they haven't talked about and how the last thing she said sounded like she was making plans for them. She thinks he's probably trying really hard not to ask, not to push, but he clearly wants to know what she's thinking, what she's decided. So, she broaches the topic, "Thank you for the things you wrote on the list."

"I meant them," he promises, "we could make it work."

She sighs. She believes him. And she wants her daughter. She's known that for a while now. She can't imagine having to give her up. It's a big commitment though. But today she thought she almost lost her daughter and she can't go through that ever again. It was the push she needed to be absolutely certain that this is the right decision, no regrets. She contends, "We'll have to make it work."

He has a hint of that real smile she was (is) so attracted to on him as he checks, "You're going to keep her?"

"I love her too much to give her up," she confesses. A few tears roll down her cheeks, but she can't move to brush them away. They're not sad or distressed tears as they've been so many times recently. She just changed her life forever and she knows it's as right as anything she's ever done.

He smiles at her and she notices that it's better than his other real smiles, brighter.

She wants to ask him a hundred other things, because they may have both decided that they want to be parents to their little girl, but she's still dating his best friend and they're still facing so many obstacles.

But their moment is interrupted by Dr. Kerry announcing, "All done. It was only three stitches and you're all fixed up. The stitches should dissolve in time, but if they don't in the next couple of weeks just come back and we'll take care of them for you." She starts to move, to turn back on to her back, but the doctor stops her, "You may want to lie on your side for a few nights to avoid it being more sore than it would otherwise." He reviews her bruises again, just to make sure she knows where they are and how bad they are so when she sees them later herself they don't come as a shock, and he assures her again that she's fine. Before he departs he checks, "It should be about twenty minutes before they get a tech down here to do an ultrasound and from what I understand there's a lot of people waiting for you in the waiting room. Would you like me to send them in or would you like me to tell them that you're waiting on another exam? After the ultrasound they'll probably start your paper work to get you out of here, since you don't have a concussion we don't need you to stay."

People? Yeah, people are one of those things they hadn't talked about yet and that she's definitely not ready to face. She buys as much time as possible by telling the doctor not to let anyone back yet, tell them she's getting the ultrasound and then she should be out there with them.

Puck knows what she's thinking as the doctor leaves the room, he's thinking the same thing. "I guess everyone's going to know now," he says, stating the obvious.

"Yeah," she agrees quietly, turning her face more towards her pillow so he doesn't notice the tears.

Rather than saying something sweet or reassuring, he shrugs and concludes, "They'll get over it."

That's it? That's all he has to say? Not that it didn't seem like something he'd say, but still, she was kind of hoping for something more comforting. She figures the gravity of the situation must not have hit him and she reminds, "I've been horrible to you and Finn. Everyone's going to hate me."

"The glee kids don't have it in them to hate you. And Finn's way too nice to hate you," he points out. He mutters, "Finn's probably going to break my jaw though. Good thing we're in a hospital."

"I'm sorry," she apologizes and not just for being the reason for what he thinks is going to happen to him at his best friend's hand, but for everything.

He doesn't catch on to the weight of her words and half shrugs as he plays with her fingers in his, "He'll get over it or he won't. Doesn't matter."

"No," she says, trying to explain what she meant, "I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have let things go that far that night, or go anywhere at all not when I'm with him. And I shouldn't have treated you so badly the next day or when I found out I was pregnant. I was panicked, which is no excuse, but I just never expected any of this."

"Neither did I," Puck offers.

There's really only one more thing they need to talk about: them. Whether or not there is a them, what's going on between them if anything. And then they can figure out what they'll tell everyone, but until then they're stuck with nothing.

She's not quite ready for that conversation though. It's been such a life changing day already, is she sure she wants to make another huge decision and change everything? She's not. So she grabs a remote that's sitting on the table near her bed and hands it to him, asks him to find something and then help her raise the bed so she can sit up.

He gladly accepts the distracting tasks. He's pretty sure he knows what he wants, but it doesn't make it any less scary as hell so he's willing to put it off for as long as they can.

-o-o-o-

Outside the door to the large room of beds Quinn's in, Finn watches through the rectangular window in the door as Puck gets up to do something. He doesn't stay in front of the window long enough to find out because he doesn't want to get caught watching them. There hadn't been a chance either of them would notice before when Quinn was on her side and facing Puck rather than the door and Puck was staring at her, eyes never leaving her for a second it seemed like to Finn.

He jumps away from the window in the door to the other side of the frame and Rachel, who's still with him but too short to see in the window asks, "What? What happened?"

"He moved," Finn answers, "He turned so I thought he could probably see me if I stayed there."

"Are you going to go in?" Rachel questions. When they found them by going down hall after hall on the first floor with Finn peering in windows (and on a few occasions Rachel sneaking into some "restricted" areas), Finn stopped at this room, her room, and just watched. She didn't question him just looking in at first because she figured maybe there was something to see. But they'd been here a good five minutes and he still remained in active. Which is just ridiculous to her, no one ever got anywhere doing nothing.

"I don't know," he responds honestly. He comes to join her sitting on the floor and against the wall opposite the door. He sighs and questions, "What would I say to them? I know you're having his baby not mine? Or, I know you slept with my girlfriend?"

"Are you upset?" she asks. It seems like something she should be able to tell, but she can't with him, especially right now. Shock is the only thing she's been getting from him and she's not sure where to go with that.

"I'm relieved," he offers honestly, "I mean, I should be pissed that my girlfriend is having somebody else's baby, but I'm _really_ relieved it's not mine." This seems to unlock something in him because he begins rambling, "And I know I should feel other things. I know I should be really angry with both of them. I should be mad that she cheated on me and I should be, like, enraged that he betrayed me by sleeping with my girlfriend. And maybe it's just cause it's new and I'm still in shock or something, but I'm really not that mad, I'm just…relieved."

"You still need to talk to them about this though," Rachel asserts, "but maybe that's all you can say to them now. You're relieved, but your feelings about all this could change and they should be prepared for that."

"You think I should talk to them _together_?" Finn questions like it's the most unappealing idea ever.

"I suppose separately would work if you prefer," she offers.

He stands back up and tries to sneakily get a glance through the window. Quinn's sitting up in her bed now, the bed's been moved to be upright. Her eyes are fixed on a TV towards the ceiling and Puck's are too. But one of her hands is still in his as he sits by her bed. He doesn't feel like going in there with them like that. He figures he should probably ask Rachel to go in and figure out something so he can talk to them separately, starting with Quinn.

But there must be a side door to this room because a lady in a white coat just entered wheeling in an ultrasound thing- he's pretty sure that's what it looked like at the appointment he went to her with. He really can't go in now. He suggests to Rachel, "They have some doctor in there doing something now, let's go to the cafeteria and get something to drink, see if they're done when we come back."

Rachel goes along without hesitation. (Though she does hang back and try to jump to see in the window on the door- she's curious.)

-o-o-o-

"Fifty on Puck coming out with a black eye," Kurt bets.

"Twenty on him not coming out at all and Quinn still staying with Finn," Santana bets because Quinn clearly had a plan and if she still doesn't want it changed, she knows Quinn's too determined to let something like this change it.

Arty scribbles all of this down, having created a betting system for the possible outcomes for today while they were all bored waiting.

"Thirty on Rachel snagging Finn by the end of the day. I'd bet more cause that girl's determined, but I don't have it," Mercedes contributes.

"Guys?" Mr. Schue questions having wandered over to them to see why he suddenly saw them with money out. "What are you doing?"

"Taking bets," Arty answers guiltily.

"There are a lot of possible outcomes for today, creating quite exciting odds," Kurt defends, "Someone could really clean up."

Mr. Schue sighs tiredly and gives the standard teacher response, "You guys really shouldn't be gambling." He notices the bets written down and hesitates as he leaves them. He turns back around as he gets out his wallet and says, "Fifty on Finn not hitting Puck. Who's the bank?"

"I-I am," Tina says reaching out and taking his proffered money from him.

Brittany and Mike cheer at Mr. Schue's bet and everyone pleads that he stay and hang out with them, bet more.

He doesn't intend to bet more, nor does he, but he sits down in one of the chairs they've rearranged into a huge gathering around them and let's everyone tell them their bets.

Emma comes back from chatting with some of the nurses she knows very well and see's what's going on. "Will," she admonishes, "you're letting them bet?"

"They already had it all set up," he defends.

She glances at Arty's system and the recorded bets and questions, "Why is no one betting for a happy ending?"

"It's too vague," Kurt explains, "our opinions about something like that could differ and then there'd be confusion about what would win."

Emma continues to glance at the things they've bet and Mercedes encourages, "Come on Ms. Pillsbury, you know there's at least one thing you want to bet."

"Oh I wouldn't know what to bet," she waves off.

"We were talking about things that could happen," Will reminds, "just bet on one of the things you think is most likely to happen."

She thinks about it for a minute before getting out her wallet and hesitating over the bills. "One hundred dollars," she begins, capturing everyone's attention, "on everyone staying in glee."

Kurt lets out a whistle.

Mr. Schue comments, "That's a bold bet." He adds for his students, "Though I hope she's right."

She shrugs and explains, "I just believe that you all truly want to be here. That you're happy in glee."

The moment is interrupted by Will's phone ringing. Sue demanded to know what was going on and why no one had the forethought to call her and let her know so she didn't have to waste time trying to find someone who actually knew his cell phone number.

They all continued to wait. Some of them hoping their bets were right, some hoping they would be wrong. All of them knowing that as far as they were concerned Ms. Pillsbury would be winning her bet, but hoping that she was right for the other glee clubbers as well.

-o-o-o-

The ultrasound technician comes and goes.

Quinn thinks Puck may have stopped breathing when their daughter appeared on the screen and her heartbeat filled the room. She can relate. Even though this isn't the first time she's done this, it still makes her heart skip a beat. This time seemed especially important though because she was finally here with the right person.

A doctor comes in while the tech is still there and says she's an obstetrician and she's going to perform one more quick exam just to be one hundred percent positive that everything is okay before they begin Quinn's release paper work.

They draw the curtain and ask Puck to be on the other side of it. He realizes that it's the first time in hours that he hasn't been able to see her. It feels like the longest day and he knows that they still have more to come. He checks his phone and sees that it's only been a few hours, in fact, school is just now getting out. He sighs as he puts back his phone because he knows that there's going to be a lot of hard stuff still to come. For one thing, he's probably got to talk to Quinn about where they stand as soon an the doctor's done checking her over because then it won't be long before they'll have to face people and say something.

The doctor opens the curtain and declares cheerily, "The baby is doing fantastic. She's healthy, mommy's happy," she rest a hand on Puck's shoulder and says with a smile, "and daddy can stop worrying."

Puck couldn't help thinking that this lady was weird and he hoped it wasn't actually Quinn's doctor- people that peppy bothered him. As the doctor leaves he takes his seat next to Quinn again. For the first time, he refrains taking her hand. Given the conversation they need to have, it seems weird- jumping the gun.

"Makes it a lot more real, doesn't it?" Quinn asks softly, playing with a lose thread on the blanket on her, staring at it as she does so. She clarifies, "Hearing her heartbeat, seeing her. It's…"

"Intense," he finishes for her.

She nods and asks, "You sure you still want to do this?" He wasn't the one carrying the baby, he'd never seen it, for him it could seem a lot less real than it had been for her so she knows it'd be naïve of her not to question him again now that it's real for him too. It has nothing to do with what she believes about his intentions; she's just trying to be smart about this.

"Yes," he declares evenly. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't even more terrified than before, but seeing her doesn't change the fact that he's not walking away from his kid.

"Good," she says with a small smile as she glances at him. She can't believe she's actually going to ask something like this, but she needs to know because they have decisions to make. She can't look at him though while she asks so her eyes return to her blanketed legs. She asks quietly, "Do you want me too?"

The question takes them both back to his truck just over sixteen weeks ago where all of this began. His answer then was a quick and certain yes. But things are different now, more complicated.

He sighs because he's not quite sure how to explain this. He figures he should just tell her everything he's thinking, hope it makes sense to her like it does in his head. He answers, "You know for a while there, as much as I was determined to not walk away like my dad, I wanted to. I just…couldn't be around you. I wanted to anyway obviously- joined glee in all. But things were bad with you and it made me want to run." It's a difficult confession to make, saying that he felt the same things his dad must have, knowing he had the urge to leave them both. But he forges on and continues to confess, "And I don't want to feel like that again. I can't. I can't be tempted to walk because things with us are bad and I don't want to be around you."

She never considered that. She just thought he'd either want her or not, but after everything she should have known that nothing with them would be so simple. She nods and responds, "I understand."

"On the other hand," he continues, his voice lighter, "every time I'm driving in my truck I can't stop thinking about you- have at least one near-miss accident a day."

She looks up at him then and finds him looking at her, smiling a little.

He offers, "That's never happened for me with a girl before. Should probably at least try to hang on to it, right?"

She bites her lower lip and turns away from him, eyes fixed on the blanket again, this time in an effort to hide her smile. She suggests, "Maybe we should date then?"

"Date?" he questions, "That feels backwards." He tries to add casually, "But you know, I could do that, if you want."

"I think I could go for it," she replies trying for the same nonchalance, glancing up to meet his eyes again.

"Alright," he accepts, with a smile so big he can't even begin to hide it.

"Yeah," she agrees giving in to her own smile again.

Silence settles over them. He's not too used to the whole relationship thing and this one's definitely not a typical one anyway so he's not sure what to do. He knows what he wants to do, but he has no idea if he actually should do it. He figures the safest way to find out what's right, right now is to just ask (he's not risking anything messing this up, it's too important), "Can I kiss you now or did you want me to like take you out or something first?"

She smiles. At least he's smart enough to check before he just does something, maybe that means they have a better chance at lasting. She answers quickly, "No. Now would be a really good time to kis-" The rest of her "s" and "me" doesn't make it out because he's already stood up, leaned over her slightly, and he's kissing her.

This continues, both of them enjoying making out completely sober this time, until they hear someone clear their throat.

They sprang apart because they both know that despite their decisions, this still isn't exactly kosher.

Rachel stands four feet in front of Quinn's bed, not a single hint of surprise or concern in her face for disturbing their moment. She announces, "Finn would like to talk to both of you- separately. Noah, please come with me out the side door and when I give the all clear he'll be coming through the main door to talk to you first Quinn."

"He knows?" Quinn checks.

"Yes," Rachel responds simply. She knows there's a lot that Finn doesn't know, probably a lot that she doesn't know, but she figures the most important thing- about the baby and the two of them cheating- is what Quinn really wants to know about and that, Finn has figured out.

Puck gives Quinn's forehead a peck and her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting the demanding brunette escort him out of the room.

"How does being with a shiksa fit into being a good Jew?" Rachel teases on their way out of the room.

"Shvayg," Puck retorts simply.

"Don't tell me to shut up," Rachel cries indignantly as the side exit to the room closes behind them.

Quinn almost feels sorry for him until the door in front of her opens and she's faced with a challenge of her own.

"Hey," Finn greets. He enters the room, but stops a pretty good distance from her bed, like he's not sure it's his place to come any closer.

"Hi," she responds.

"So," he drawls.

"I'm so sorry," she breaks in before he can say anything, "I messed up and I was scared and it's no excuse, but I was going to tell you, I swear."

He's silent for a few seconds and then he surprises them both when he says, "It's okay."

"Really?" Quinn questions. If she was in his place she's pretty sure she'd be planning her revenge by now- something extravagant and effective.

"Well, sort of," he amends. He seems to forget his previous discomfort as he comes and sits on the end of her bed and rambles, "It's just, I was talking to Rachel while we were waiting, and I was telling her how right now I'm really just relieved. And she keeps telling me that it's probably only how I feel right now and once the shock wears off I'll feel differently. And she's smart and all, but I think she's wrong." He runs a hand through his hair, gathering his thoughts and explains, "See, I realized that I'm not that mad and I don't think I will be. It sucks and all that you cheated on me, but if I can't get mad about it, then can I really blame you? Does that make any sense?"

She considers it. In a sort of twisted way, he is making a surprising amount of sense. She answers, "Sort of."

He nods and offers, "And don't you deserve a guy that would be like really, really pissed about you cheating on him? And don't I deserve to be with someone that I would be really pissed about them cheating on me? And if that's not the way we feel about each other, then I guess it's a really good thing we realized that and we're not together."

She nods. It makes sense, his rationalizing. She repeats, "I'm still sorry for lying to you though."

He shrugs and offers, "It's not like I never lied to you. Not about anything this big, but still…"

He stands up to leave, offering her a small smile as he does.

"Wait," she says stopping him, "before you talk to Puck you should know that I made the first move."

"Good to know," he says with a nod.

She doesn't have the right to ask and she's not asking for the same reasons she would have once been, but she asks, "Are you with Rachel yet?"

He looks kind of embarrassed as he says, "Nah, that would be-"

"Fine," she says cutting him off, "you don't need a grace period with this. And Puck and I are going to try a real relationship and we're starting now since we only have so many weeks left alone together. You should go after what you want now too. There's no reason for you to wait and I think Rachel's been waiting long enough anyway."

He smiles at her then for real and nods as he says, "I'm really glad you're okay."

He heads for the door that Puck and Rachel went through. He stops before going out and Rachel comes in before he leaves.

Rachel then is clearly on a mission to distract her from wondering what's going on between Puck and Finn as she asks question after question about what the doctor told her and about her injuries and their care. It's a nice gesture in it's own Rachel way and she's surprised that she's being that nice to her after everything. Eventually she asks Rachel why she's doing this and she says simply to Quinn that she messed up, everyone does (even her though very rarely and never on stage). She hopes the other glee kids and her Cheerio friends will hold the same opinion.

-o-o-o-

Finn simply stands in front of Puck in silence for a minute once they're alone together. Puck stares at the tile and waits to feel Finn's fist hit his face.

Instead of administering that punch Finn eventually admits, "I don't know how to feel about this." He rambles, "On the one hand I should be really mad you slept with my girlfriend- and that you got her pregnant. On the other hand I know it's like a huge deal that you want to be with her cause you had always planned on being a bachelor for life and now you're practically committing to one girl forever." He amends after a beat, "Two girls forever really."

"Just hit me and get it over with," Puck offers.

Finn shakes his head and responds, "Rachel says that violence would probably prevent us from ever being friends again and I don't know if I'm mad enough to risk that." He thinks about it for a second and suggests, "Can I reserve the right to hit you later if I decide I want to?"

"Sure, I'm good with that," Puck responds without even thinking it through. He's not passing up a good opportunity when it knocks.

"Good," Finn concludes. He adds, "And I may not talk to you for a while. Definitely won't be hanging out until I figure all this out."

"Okay," Puck accepts because it's a lot better than he was expecting.

"Can you send Rachel back out?" Finn asks to let him know that this little exchange is over.

"Yeah," he agrees and leaves before Finn changes his mind and stops being so surprisingly cool about this.

They're all one-step closer to all of this being over.

-o-o-o-

It takes thirty more minutes before a nurse drops off the discharge papers and then another ten before anyone comes back to get them. The nurse warns her as she leaves that her parents weren't notified as a favor to Emma, but her insurance will be billed so she has a month to six weeks before her parents find it on a bill. That's something she'll think about later though, as she heads down the hall to the waiting area she knows there are more pressing matters.

At least she's not doing this alone she's reminded as Puck's hand gives hers a reassuring squeeze as they draw ever nearer to the waiting area.

They had talked about this and she insisted that she wants to be the one to say something to all of them. And she's not backing down. When they get to the waiting area and silence settles over the glee kids immediately as their eyes fall on her, she opens her mouth determined to say what she prepared. She announces, "Just to recap. I'm sixteen and a half weeks pregnant with a little girl that is Puck's from when I cheated on Finn with him." Puck clears his throat to her right and she realizes what she forgot in her nervousness and adds, "And we're dating now."

"And?" Mercedes prompts.

"And what?" Quinn asks confused. She looks to Puck to see if he understands, but he clearly doesn't.

"Well we already figured all that out," Kurt informs them.

She sees Finn shaking his head as if to say it wasn't him that told and Rachel shrugs beside him to say the same thing.

Arty pipes up, "What we don't know is if all of this…paternity…drama is going to make anyone quit glee."

Quinn glances at Puck uncertain. Neither know what they should do. Do people want them to quit?

Mr. Schue picks up on the hesitation and pipes up, "Everyone here has discussed it and they're all staying." He adds with a glance around to all the kids, "And I think I speak for everyone when I say that we're a team, and no matter what, you're both still part of that team."

Most of the heads nod along, confirming that they agree with Mr. Schue- a couple of the others look like they simply weren't listening to anything that's going on (Matt was attempting to charm Santana into a date as everyone else was distracted).

It's nicer than they expected and Quinn checks disbelievingly, "You guys don't care about any of this? You still want us around?"

Mercedes beats Rachel to a response saying, "Not really, it's old news now."

"Plus you're still our fellow glee clubbers. And our friends," Arty adds hopefully.

Puck nudges Quinn's shoulder getting her attention, gives her a small smile, and she knows what to do. She smiles at her friends and responds, "We'll be staying in glee club then."

Rachel takes control re-organizing rides to go get some dinner together- it's been hours since most of them ate and they're staving. She refuses to organize them into their usual clicks. She puts Ms. Pillsbury with Mr. Schue in his car as well as Matt, Mercedes, and herself. She puts Tina, Finn, and Santana riding with Mike. And everyone else piles into Kurt's Suburban. She then double checks every car before they leave to make sure no one deviated from her plan.

They head off together all knowing that Ms. Pillsbury totally cleaned them out in their bet.

-o-o-o-

Later that night, as Quinn lays in her bed, hand on abdomen, she realizes that this is what redemption feels like. She may have committed a lot of sins, but the guilt and punishments she fell into weren't right. And she's made amends to the people she felt guilt over and it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it'd be. She's finally at peace with herself.

Nothing will be easy, just like nothing has been so far. She has a feeling that school could get worse for her. She'll have her friends from glee and Puck to lean on though and she knows she'll get through it.

She strokes her hand over her stomach, fingertips trailing over the small of bump forming. She has a feeling that no matter what is to come, it will all be worth it.

The end.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the end of the story!**

And for those of you who may be wondering if I'll be writing any more _Glee_ fics (and specifically Puck/Quinn), I definitely have ideas and I do hope to get to them. Though, fair warning, I've finally found a job- subbing- and I'm hoping to actually get some work starting next week (if everything goes as planned). So I may not have as much time on my hands (and I've had way too much- this fic only took me two weeks to write from beginning to end). But even if I get some work, I hope to continue to write the newest pairing I've become hopelessly addicted to.

On a side note, why has no one started a Quick community? Personally, I'm far too irresponsible with recreational communities to be trusted with one (my myspace and facebook accounts are proof of that), but I'd like to encourage anyone willing to give them a community.

**Thank you so much for reading and as reviews do indeed equal love, I hope to hear from you in a REVIEW!**


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